


Uncertain Guardian

by Trenchcoat Hunter (Reedt)



Series: Guardians: The Ones Who Stands Against [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Hale Fire, Alternate Universe - Werewolves Are Known, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Derek, BAMF Stiles, Branding, Character Bashing, Complete, Demons, Derek is a Good Alpha, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fallen Angels, Guilt, Kid Fic, Kidnapping, M/M, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Mystery, Nightmares, No Sex, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pack Mother Stiles Stilinski, Paranoia, Possession, Pregnancy, Survivor Guilt, Suspense, Tattoos, Triggers, Violence, Weddings, Wordcount: 50.000-100.000, Wordcount: Over 50.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-13
Updated: 2015-07-18
Packaged: 2018-03-12 04:39:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 55,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3343943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reedt/pseuds/Trenchcoat%20Hunter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The sizzle of meat almost covered up the whisper as Aiden asked, “Dad, do you really think it’s them?”<br/>Stiles stopped his ministrations for a moment before turning to his teenaged son. “What do your noses say?”<br/>Ethan looked up from the cutting board. “It smells like them.”<br/>Liam wiped his forearm across his forehead. “At least how they smelled from years ago.”<br/>Stiles turned back to the stove, but his sons could see how his shoulders were tense. “I think it’s them. I can’t ever forget. I still have nightmares about them.”<br/>His sons could hear the rise in Stiles’ heartbeat as Ethan set the knife down. “What are we going to do? Derek’s invited them to stay. He can’t really just turn them away now.”<br/>Stiles turned and sighed, bracing himself against the counter. “We’ll serve them dinner and hope they decide I’m not worth killing.”</p><p>Part 1:<br/><a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/3109850">Unlikely Guardian</a><br/>Part 3:<br/><a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/4459862">Unconquered Guardian</a><br/><a href="http://trenchcoat-hunter.tumblr.com/">My Tumblr</a></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Last Minute Dinner Guests

The summer sun seemed to find a particularly lazy course this evening as it made its way to the horizon. The trees in the Preserve were still lush and green, swaying to a soft wind that blew through.

Derek stood at the edge of a clearing flanked by Jackson and Isaac. Scott had been called into the clinic to deal with an emergency so they were short a wolf today. Not that Derek really minded considering how tame things were currently. Across the way, two omegas wolves waited quietly. The man was tall, well muscled and dark skinned; he had a powerful, but calm aura to him. The blonde next to him was shorter with soulful brown eyes. She felt a bit erratic if not cheerful in her demeanor.

After the Omegas settled, Derek stepped forward. “Welcome to Beacon Hills. We received your notice for an audience. I am Derek Hale, Alpha of the Hale pack. What do you wish to speak of with me?”

The male Omega tilted his head to bear his neck as he spoke. “My name is Vernon Boyd, you can just call me Boyd. This is my mate Erica Reyes. We’ve come seeking sanctuary and permission to settle here in Beacon Hills.”

“Sanctuary? Does a threat follow you?” Jackson eyed them suspiciously.

Erica shook her head. “Nothing that isn’t normally out for blood or anything. We are simply seeking a new home. Our families don’t approve of our relationship and have tried to separate us.” Jackson listened to her heart and then nodded to Derek.

“So at best, I’m going to have the _Montagues_ and _Capulets_ badgering me?” Derek quirked an eyebrow.

Boyd chuckled. “I suppose that’s one way of putting it.”

Erica smiled. “We are really just looking for a place to be free, to be who we are. We’ve heard of Beacon Hills and how safe it is. What better place to try and raise a pup?”

Isaac went wide-eyed and took in a deep breath. “Oh my gosh! Derek you have to let them stay!”

Boyd and Erica looked confused for a moment as Derek rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Was planning on that Isaac. No reason to turn them away.” Boyd and Erica grinned but still looked confused. Derek directed his attention back to the omegas. “Don’t mind Isaac. Did you wish to join my pack as well or try to start your own?”

Boyd looked startled. “You’d let us join your pack?”

Erica had owl eyes blinking. “You’d let us start a pack?”

Derek shrugged. “I wouldn’t be keeping you here as prisoners or anything if you decided to stay. You’d either join my pack or start your own. Granted, I assume you’d eventually move on once your pack is big enough. Beacon Hills is my territory.” The last five words came out as a growl. A very possessive growl.

Jackson punched Derek on the arm. “Stop that, you’re freaking them out.”

Derek flinched. He hadn’t realized that Boyd and Erica both looked like they were about to panic and take off in the next moment. The Alpha sighed. “Sorry, didn’t mean to get all territorial.”

Isaac smirked. “Wedding jitters.”

“Shut up!” Derek whined.

Erica perked up, a lot. “Oh my gosh! You’re getting married?!”

Boyd eyed Erica. Jackson could see the wheels in Boyd’s head turning and thoroughly freaking the fuck out. Jackson smirked. “Yup, to my best friend!”

Erica squealed and almost hopped to her feet before she got control of herself and settled back down on her knees. “Ohhhh! And then you can have some pack pups!”

Isaac smiled gleefully. “Our Alpha is going to be getting three pups in the marriage as is. Pre-made family.”

The blond Omega positively squeaked. Boyd was now slightly sweating. Derek could sympathize. “I officially extend my permission for you two to stay in Beacon Hills. Do you wish to join my pack as well?”

Erica looked up at Boyd hopefully while placing her hands on her stomach. Boyd’s face softened into a small smile before turning to Derek and touched his chin to his chest. “We thank the Alpha for allowing us to stay and would like to join your pack if you will have us.”

Derek nodded as he pulled out his phone and sent off a text. “Come with us. It’s actually pack night and this will be the perfect chance for you to be introduced to everyone. We can also get my mate’s acceptance as well. Next full moon, we can do the official submission rites.”

Erica looked lost for a moment before Jackson spoke up. “The pack already treats the two of them as the Alpha Pair. In a wolf sense, they’re mated and all that good stuff. Legally, the wedding is in a few months.”

“Oh.”

Isaac smiled as he held a hand out to both Erica and Boyd onto their feet. “Don’t worry, everyone is very welcoming. Just don’t piss off the den mom and you’ll be fine. Alpha is still in the dog house from last week’s eggplant incident.” Isaac winked.

Boyd smiled while Erica grinned as Derek stared flatly Isaac before reaching over and smacking him in the back of the head. “Let’s see what Danny says when he finds out what you did to his Armani cologne.”

Isaac looked so betrayed. Jackson, Boyd, and Erica burst out laughing. Erica wiped her eyes of tears. “Already feels like home.”

The run through the preserve was quaint. Derek, Jackson and Isaac set a seemingly punishing pace before they realized that Boyd and Erica were not keeping up. After bring their pace down, Boyd came alongside Jackson and wheezed. “You-set-a-hard-pace.”

Jackson grunted as he lept over a fallen tree with seemingless effort. “We’re pretty awesome. I mean, yeah the Alpha Pair train me and the other Betas but some of us are just naturally talented. Training sessions are a cake walk really.” Jackson grinned. Boyd was starting to feel a bit outclassed and depressed. Why would this pack want weak Omegas like him and Erica.

Derek huffed, but looked back at Jackson as he jumped over a small ravine. “I’m telling on you as soon as we get back that you think the training sessions are easy now.”

Isaac actually tripped causing all the wolves to stop and check on him. When Derek was within range, he frantically grabbed onto the Alpha’s arm. “DON’T SAY THAT! PLEASE! YOU CAN HAVE MY MOON COOKIES NEXT MONTH JUST DON’T SAY TRAINING IS EASY!!!!”

Erica and Boyd blinked furiously, utter confusion set on their faces as Jackson was suddenly on his knees as well pawing at Derek’s cargo shorts. “I SWEAR I WILL NEVER SAY A COCKY THING AGAIN! JUST DON’T SAY ANYTHING!!!”

Derek smirked. “Gonna have to do better than that Jackson.”

The wolf keened for a moment. “Fine, take my moon cookies then too next month, JUST DON’T SAY IT!”

Derek threw his head back in a laugh. “Deal!”

The Omegas could hear the furious tempo of the Betas’ heartbeats slowly settling down. Derek smiled at the two. “You’ll understand in due course, especially the wonder that are moon cookies. They are worth hoarding.”

Jackson grumbled as he got up and huffed quietly. “Like freaking Smaug, I swear.”

“What was that Jackson?”

“Nothing!”

Erica and Boyd grinned at the banter.

Thirty minutes later had the five wolves facing what had been dubbed as the Hale House. At the prospect of a family being a permanent fixture in his life, the loft apartment wasn’t going to be enough especially with three growing pups. After scouring through countless real estate listing, Derek found one for a debilitated, run down house within the confines of the Preserve. Local legend had claimed it to be cursed with bad luck. Accidents had plagued the previous owners, one resulting in the house being flooded and on fire at the same time. How that happened is still a mystery, but when Derek and the pack came to investigate the lands, they found that there was actually a bad infestation of goblins around the house that had been the source of all the trouble. After a quick goblin extermination (Scott was never allowed near the steel wool and nail polish after that), Derek bought the house and land. It was ideal for the pack. It would be simple to train and not have to traipse back to town to rest and recover. Renovation and construction had Derek’s black Centurion card smoking, but it was worth it.

Boyd whistled appreciatively. “This is some house.”

Erica double blinked. “I’m expecting a butler at the door. There’s no butler, right?”

“No,” Derek shook his head. “A butler only appears if my grandfather and grandmother come around with theirs in tow. I don’t keep one here.”

Boyd and Erica both turned their heads to him at the same time. “You’re kidding, right?” Erica whispered.

Jackson sighed. “No, most annoying two weeks of my life. Too many damn rules.”

Isaac stepped in. “Anyways! It’s just the pack here. No surprises really.”

The five wolves walked up the stairs to the wide-open porch. Erica’s grin stretched to a smile when she spied the well-worn bench swing at the far end facing west. She felt Boyd tugging her along as Isaac held open the front door. The hallway was a cool navy blue with white trimming. All along the walls hung framed pictures of various people in different backgrounds. Isaac smiled and gestured with his hand. “All pack, different trips. We like doing things together, vacations being right at the top.”

The five walked to what looked like the living room. In an arm chair tapping away at a laptop sat a very handsome man with a tan complexion and a tropical feel to him. Isaac immediately moved over to him and bent down for a kiss, which was returned enthusiastically, if not sweetly. Isaac pulled away and then sat down in the man’s lap, forcing him to move his laptop out of the way. “This is Danny, my mate.”

Boyd nodded but Erica turned to Derek. “Is he the one that you were talking about the Armani-”

“NO!” Isaac howled in horror.

Danny chuckled. “Isaac, I already know. Don’t worry, I just went out and got new one.”

Isaac squinted at Derek. “You knew I didn’t know he knew, didn’t you.”

Boyd tried to process what the hell Isaac had just said. Derek crossed his arms and smirked avoiding the question. “Come on, let’s go to the kitchen.”

Derek lead Jackson, Erica and Boyd, as Danny consoled his curly blond mate, to the kitchen where they found Lydia and Allison sitting at the table with a massive amount of paper work spread all over. Both women looked up. Lydia had an eyebrow raised. “I take it we have new packmates?”

Boyd and Erica shuffled slightly, but Allison smiled and they relaxed. “Don’t worry about Lydia, she’s always a little frosty at first.”

“Stop spreading lies, Allison.” Lydia snapped. Derek took note of the empty kitchen and just hiked his thumb to the vacant space while raising an eyebrow. Lydia just rolled her eyes. “On the way home from the store. Needed more stuff for tonight after your text came in.”

“Gotcha.”

Jackson tilted his head to the side for a moment. “Actually, I think I hear the Jeep pulling up. We should go help bring in the groceries.”

Derek nodded. Boyd appreciated the fact that there wasn’t a lot of posturing or growling from this Alpha. The silent body language he could deal with. The four wolves were outside just as a blue, banged-up jeep came to a stop. Erica smiled as she watched three pups pop out of the sides of the open topped Jeep. A set of twins that looked to be fourteen or so and the littlest one looking to be about eleven stopped dead in their tracks when they noticed they had company. All three eyed them warily, took a sniff and froze mid whiff. One of the twins looked over his shoulder and said “Dad, you need to see who’s here with Papa.”

The driver side door opened and out stepped a lean, muscular man with a mess of brown hair, warm bourbon eyes and a mischievous smile wearing a blue unzipped hoodie and a Walk The Moon t-shirt underneath. Derek felt affection and love bloom in his chest. “Hey babe, I brought the guests for tonight. They’re looking to start a family here in Beacon Hills and join the pack.” Derek gestured to the Omegas, who he now noticed were both wide eyed and jaws dropped.

Stiles followed Derek’s arm and looked equally as shocked. “Erica?! Boyd?!”

Erica recovered before Boyd. “Stiles?!” Then making the connection, she whipped back to the pups. “Ethan?! Aiden?! LIAM?!?!!?”

Stiles was still reeling. “What are you two doing here??!! How did you escape the Shades??”

Derek waved his arms and raised his voiced. “Woah, WOAH! Hold up! You guys know each other?! How!”

Stiles and the pups stood next to the Jeep still looking for the most part just stunned while Erica and Boyd were flabbergasted. Jackson and Isaac shared a flat stare between the two Betas with the same thought between them: only Beacon Hills.

After Jackson snapped everyone out of their state of shock, Isaac ushered everyone inside. The roar of a motorcycle rolling up the road preceded the arrival of Scott from the clinic. Jackson turned to the newly arrived Beta. “Awesome timing, helping me bring in the groceries.”

Scott pulled of his helmet as he propped his bike up. “Where’s everyone else and do I smell new wolves?”

Jackson sighed. “I’ll fill you in. Just help me with this, you’re never going to believe the crap that just walked in to our lives.”

Scott stared at Jackson for a minute before he sighed. “Our lives dude.”

 

<~~~~~>

 

Ethan were busy dicing up lettuce and tomatoes as Aiden crushed numerous limes barehanded into a pitcher while Liam was scooping out avocados into a bowl and mashing them to paste. Stiles had three different pans and pots going at the stove with a very impressive array of spices, seasonings and sauces at his disposal on the counter. Stiles’ sons _(“Dad, we are not pups anymore, except Li-Li.” “Hey!”)_ had long become accustomed to being his little sous chefs after the _ravioli_ debacle from three years ago that had essentially exiled the older Betas from stepping anywhere near the stove again. Stiles was sautéing ground pork in one pot, searing flank steak strips in another pan, and while braising grilled chicken in a green sauce. Mexican night at the Hale House was not taken lightly. Actually, no meal Stiles cooked was taken lightly, but Mexican night was a pack favorite.

The sizzle of meat almost covered up the whisper as Aiden asked, “Dad, do you really think it’s them?”

Stiles stopped his ministrations for a moment before turning to his teenaged son. “What do your noses say?”

Ethan looked up from the cutting board. “It smells like them.”

Liam wiped his forearm across his forehead. “At least how they smelled from years ago.”

Stiles turned back to the stove, but his sons could see how his shoulders were tense. “I think it’s them. I can’t ever forget. I still have nightmares about them.”

His sons could hear the rise in Stiles’ heartbeat. “What are we going to do? Derek’s invited them to stay. He can’t really just turn them away now.”

Stiles turned and sighed, bracing himself against the counter. “We’ll serve them dinner and hope they decide I’m not worth killing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm probably going to take this story a bit slower than I did the first one, still got a lot on my plate, but writing is still therapeutic for me.


	2. An African or a European Swallow?

Derek smelled the anxiety fogging up the dining room and probably could cut the tension in the air with one of his claws. The giant dining table groaned in protest to the amount of food Stiles and the pups (“ _Papa! Stop calling us pups!” “No.” “Ugh!”)_ with the whole pack seated all around. Derek sat at one end of the table as Stiles sat to his right, Ethan, Liam and Aiden following in that order. Jackson, Lydia, Danny, Isaac, Allison, and Scott eyed the other half of the table with some apprehension. The last minute diner guests were seated on Derek’s left so Stiles had to force himself to not openly stare at Erica and Boyd while also making sure not to blatantly avoid eye contact. Ethan placed a hand on his thigh and gently squeezed while tapping three fingers in a steady rhythm. Stiles breathed normally as he went through the Pillars in his mind. _Force…Knowledge…Discipline_. Even if he had originally intended it for his pups to use, it had been helpful for himself.

Erica and Boyd felt so uncomfortable with the whole situation. Meeting Stiles and the pups again after almost four and a half years was never something they expected.

As everyone ate in a much more subdued manner than normal, picking up on Stiles, his sons’, and the Omegas’ anxiety, Derek noted how what seemed like a simple audience in the afternoon now seemed to herald something else coming at his pack. Since the events of Stiles arrival homecoming with his sons in tow years ago, the pack had dealt with a few supernatural situations. Nothing at the level of Old Dragon and Gerard, at least. Now, it seemed that there was a new threat looming. Knowing his mate, this was going to take some gentle prodding and guiding if it dealt with his past. “Stiles…” His mate flinched and all the silverware on the table twitched. Oh, this was bad. Derek reached out and gently laid his right hand on top of Stiles left arm, where it was clutching a napkin in a death grip. “Sourpatch…I’ve given Erica and Boyd sanctuary here in Beacon Hills. Is that alright for you?”

Stiles let out a forced laugh. “Yes! Yes, of course! Why wouldn’t I agree with that? Silly Sourwolf. I whole-heartedly agree! The more, the merrier! Erica and Boyd! Boy howdy, they can get nice and settled here!”

Jackson could hear the very subtle blip in Stiles’ heart. It wasn’t a lie, but there was something hidden. He doubted any of the other wolves heard it, but Derek and their pups would know something was off. They could read Stiles better than anyone else.

Erica looked up at Stiles hesitantly. “Thank you, Alpha, for allowing us to stay.”

Stiles blinked and much of his anxiety fell as his face scrunched in confusion. “Did you just call me ‘Alpha’?”

It was Erica turn to be confused, again. “Yes?”

“But I’m not a wolf?”

Derek interceded. “Stiles, you’re my mate. You’re the other half of the Alpha Pair for our pack so others refer to you as Alpha as well.”

Stiles tilted his head. “Wait, how does that work? I thought you were just the Alpha?”

“I am the Alpha in regards to my powers and abilities, but it also pertains to my title and position within the pack. Like feral Alphas with no pack, its what drives them insane in the first place. Since we’re mates, you’re my equal in title and position.”

Stiles blushed and went wide-eyed. “You mean we’re like married already?! As in Mister and Mister Alpha Hale!??! Did we tie the knot when I got the knot-”

Derek clamped a hand over Stiles’ mouth also blushing furiously while Scott clapped his hands over his ears and howled. “SHUT UP!”

Jackson and Isaac painfully snorted trying to smother an outburst of laughter and not spray tacos all over the place while their respective other halves smacked them on the back to keep from choking. Boyd glanced at the pups to see a bored and clearly unfazed attitude to everything. Reassuring to say the least at the apparent normalcy. Boyd looked at Erica and raised an eyebrow at her. “Seems sane enough.”

“Reasonably anyways. Stiles did say his pack where nut cases.” Erica added wistfully.

Stiles stilled and his eyes fell as the pups all shifted uncomfortably. Derek, realizing Stiles had calmed down, slowly lowered his hand. Broken would be the best way to describe Stiles’ face. “Erica, Boyd…I’m sorry…I’m so sorry for what I did…I understand that-that you’d-I wouldn’t fight if you wanted to take revenge.”

Every other wolf besides Boyd stiffened in their seat with a chorus of low growls, but Erica smiled wanly. “Stiles, it wasn’t your fault what happened to us.”

Boyd nodded as the other wolves in relaxed. “You couldn’t have done anymore than you already did.”

Stiles bowed his head, but guilt and sorrow wafted into the air. “All these years…I thought you’d died…it was so dark…I didn’t-”

“You did what you could. There is nothing to forgive, Stiles.” Erica interrupted.

Stiles looked up with tears in his eyes. “It wasn’t enough.”

Boyd snorted as he ticked off his fingers. “Between being sleep deprived and starved while dealing with demons and a dragon, exactly how much better could you have handled all that?”

Isaac blinked owlishly. “I’m sorry, did you say demons?”

“Forget the demons, did you say dragon?!” Scott gasped.

Lydia perked an eyebrow. “While being sleep deprived and starved? I remember cram-night Stiles from high school, the next morning was never pleasant.”

Stiles’ tears had stopped falling as he glared obnoxiously at Lydia and then Danny. “Excuse me, but why was I always having to study so hard? Oh that’s right! I had you two as competition for Valedictorian!”

Jackson snickered. “Nerds, the whole lot of them.”

Everyone around the table laughed out loud when Danny, Lydia and Stiles threw a dirty look at Jackson at the same time. The heavy tension from before melted away, at least for the time.

The pack had migrated to the den Jackson had outfitted after dinner, where a movie was played and every relaxed. Everyone except Stiles and Erica. Stiles stood on the porch of the Hale House. Despite the summer warmth, Stiles hugged himself in the falling twilight and shuddered at past memories. Soft footsteps preceded the arrival of Erica. Not a word was spoken as they both peered into the darkening woods standing next to each other. Erica could hear the steady heartbeat of Stiles slowly rise in tempo before he broke the silence. “If I had been just a little stronger, a little more focused, we would have been standing here together four years ago.”

Erica said nothing as the night continued to reach out and take the Preserve from the day. Instead, she turned and walked over to the large porch swing and gently sat down. The squeak of wood and gentle rattle of chains had Stiles turning slowly as she gently pat the spot next to her. Slowly, Stiles walked over and gently sat down. Erica could smell the anxiety and sorrow from Stiles as he sat ramrod straight. The she-wolf sighed and laid her head against his shoulder, where she felt the rock hard feel of his tense shoulders. Erica adjusted her head a few times. “Somebody’s put on some muscle since last I saw him.”

Stiles deflated. “Seriously, that’s the first thing that comes to mind?”

“Well, you were rather on the skinny side when I saw you last.”

“Wouldn’t have been a problem if I hadn’t gotten you guys killed before.”

Erica tilted her head back to look at the guilt-riddled man as he stared off into the darkness. “We’re not dead Stiles. We’re both right here.”

Stiles snapped at her, the cords in his neck standing out as he screamed. “You were dead to me! These last four years, you’ve been dead to me and it was my fault! Dead because I let you both go! How can you not just want to rip me apart?!”

Erica grabbed onto Stiles as he tried to jump up and run off. Her golden yellow eyes shown in the night as she forced his face into her shoulder as he growled and cried in anger. “It wasn’t your fault Stiles. It wasn’t your fault.”

The broken man eventually stopped fighting to get away. Erica felt his arms wrap around her in a death grip as he sobbed into her shoulder while she gently ran her hand through his hair, keening and mewling in sympathy. Her own eyes had small tears pooling as she held this man who cared enough for her and her mate that he carried this burden on his soul for years. Who had enough love in his heart for two strangers he had only known for a short while.

At the other end of the porch, Derek and Boyd stood in silence watching their mates, the Alpha holding back Boyd. “He’ll be ok. Stiles carries a lot of scars, especially in his heart.”

Boyd turn to Derek, the stench of worry seeping into the air between the two wolves. “How can you be so calm when your mate is so distraught?”

A small smile broke across Derek’s face. “Because I know how strong he is. Come on, let’s go back inside and join the rest of the pack. I’ll bet those two will come inside in due course.”

Inside the den, six other wolves listened in on the wolves outside. Scott turned to his nephews seated on the couch. “Are we going to know about what happened any time soon?”

Liam twiddled his thumbs and stared at his socked clad feet before looking up. “It was during the months between us leaving Hong Kong and making it home to Beacon Hills.”

Danny’s eyebrows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

Aiden rubbed his eyes and leaned his elbows on his knees and spoke through his palms on his face. “It took us about five months from when we ran from China to get back to California. Dad had us take a long way round so that the Lau Family wouldn’t be able to follow us and it worked. We never had anyone tailing us as far as we know.”

Ethan threw his head back and stared at the ceiling as he spoke. “Dad didn’t really think there would be anyone waiting for us here at Beacon Hills if we waited so long to get back. He figured they would guess that dad wanted to get home as fast as possible. They’d wait and eventually get impatient enough to leave.”

“So you spent five months to travel home? Where did you guys go?” Lydia asked.

Liam turned to his aunt. “We walked north from China through Russia, took a small boat to Alaska and walked from there through Canada and back into the US.”

“WHAT?!” exclaimed all adults in the den.

The pups looked a bit surprised at their aunts’ and uncles’ outburst. Ethan popped his head up. “What?”

Allison was the first to recover some of her rational sense. “How could you walk home from Hong Kong?!” Remember, only _some_ of her rational sense.

The pups shrugged as Aiden took the lead. “Dad said the Lau Family would most likely have people watching the airports and docks in China for us so we walked. You already know how stupid they thought we were. Dad outsmarted them for the most part. Didn’t know about the Code Breaker though.”

“But how do you guys know Erica and Boyd?” Jackson asked.

“A question to be answered another day.” Came a voice from the den door. The six wolves and three humans turned to see Derek and Boyd standing side by side. Boyd looked embarrassed while Derek had his arms crossing his chest and his crimson red eyes glowing. “Let’s let Erica and Boyd settle into town before we give them an inquisition.”

Erica and Stiles, who had crept up behind them both shouted at the same time, “NO BODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!”

They looked at each other in surprise, before Stiles smiled and grabbed Erica in a hug. “You are so very welcome to stay in Beacon Hills.”

Isaac moaned. “Oh my god, she likes _Monty Python_! We’ll never hear the end of this from Stiles now!”

Erica and Stiles turned at the curly blond wolf and pointed at him. “A _witch_! A _witch_! We have found a _witch_!” To which they both dissolved into laughter as the pack just groaned.

Derek and Boyd looked at each other and just shrugged.

<~~~~~>

A sourceless shadow hovered in place near the porch of the Hale House for a moment before it slide across the ground into the Preserve and into the night.


	3. Nightmares and Pancakes

“Shit! Run!” Stiles yelled as he glanced over his shoulder. Dark shadows fluttered between the trees as the group bounded over fallen timbers and rabbit holes. The group of twelve ran as fast as they could as the darkness continued to encroach all around them.

“How many are there?!” The Coyote cried from the front of the group as he led the way.

Stiles chanced a look behind him and blanched. “I can’t tell! Too many!”

The Coyote cursed. “We’ve got one chance then! We’re going to have cross the river!”

Stiles glared and huffed. “Are you seriously going to pull Ring Wraith bullshit on us!? They can’t cross water?”

The Coyote snapped back. “No jackass! The knucker owes me and can protect us! It’s not like you’re doing much against them!”

“I can at least see them, you fucker!” Stiles growled as he looked over his shoulder. “And what the hell is a knucker?!”

“Water dragon from Sussex, Dr. Seuss!” The Coyote gasped as he ducked a black hand that appeared out of nowhere and tried to rip his head off.

“Why the hell is there a British water dragon here in Canada?!”

“Like I know?!”

The twelve continued to run until they came across the river The Coyote had mentioned. The water was dark, choppy, and deep, cradled by banks of rough stone on both sides the size of a small child’s head. He cupped his hands and shouted, “Oye! You dodgy tosser! Get your arse up!”

Stiles turned around to see numerous Shades come into view. “Hurry up! Hurry up!” Stiles pulled his pups to him and pushed them towards the water. Liam, Ethan and Aiden had stayed remarkably silent through the whole escapade, especially for two ten-year-olds and their seven-year-old brother. Erica and Boyd huddled close to them. The blonde wolf wept. “We escaped…we finally escaped just to be killed like this?”

The Coyote growled. “Like hell we are! You lazy sod! GET UP HERE NOW!”

The darkness crept all around. Stiles sneered as he grabbed a black cloth wrapped stick from his bag. His eyes began to glow faintly with a white light. The blond wolf gasped. “What the-“

One of the twins snapped at her quietly. “Shut up, dad’s concentrating.”

Her eyes widened as Stiles whipped his hand across his chest and then up over his head. Thick wood branches began to erupt in a line, quickly knitting into a living wall between the group and the woods. Stiles wiped the sweat from his forehead as he looked to The Coyote. “I’ve bought us time.”

The Coyote nodded. “Good, our ride and escort has arrived.”

A deep grumbling, preceded as the water began to bulge before the water breached from below as a monstrous and sinuous black, green and brown body came into view. The body at its thickest was as large a school bus but easily twice as long. The large serpentine creature brought its head low to eye The Coyote, who huffed at the beast. “I’m calling in my favor, you prat. Get us across and keep us safe.”

The knucker squinted before it rumbled and lay down onto the rocky bank. The Coyote hiked his thumb over his shoulder. “Get a move on!” Seven of the group scrambled to the back of the dragon as Stiles and the pups backed away slowly, Stiles keeping his hand outstretched and focused. The Coyote glared at the slow moving group of four. “Hurry up!”

“I’m exhausted and haven’t eaten in days! One slip and they are right on top of us so shut the hell up!” Stiles wheezed and perspired as shaky legs and his pups made their way to the knucker.

Unholy, disturbing noises could be heard beyond the line of branches Stiles had created. A moment of panic spread through the group on the knucker when Stiles slipped on some slippery rocks. Thankfully, his twins kept him upright, but the break in his concentration followed with black, clawed arms bursting though the branches. The Coyote yelled from behind Stiles, “Where are you two going?!”

Before Stiles could figure out what was happening, he was being hefted up in a bridal carry. Focusing hard on not breaking his vision from the wall, he huffed. “Hey! Concentrating here!”

A deep, rumbling voice whispered in his ear, “We’ll get you and your pups to the tadpole, you keep doing what your doing.”

Stiles relaxed slightly at not having to walk backwards over the rocky bank anymore and brought his focus back to the gapes where black arms wildly slashed at vain attempts to get at them. With a small burst of power, the holes in the wall snapped shut and the limbs that had not been pulled out were chopped off. Eerie screams filled the night, but under the light of the half moon, the dismembered arms sizzled into black smoke before disappearing into nothing. Stiles had enough sense of mind to ask without turning, “My pups?”

“My mate, Erica, is escorting them.”

The Coyote gruffed as the other half of the group finally made it to the knucker. “Took you long enough. Let’s go, you old sod!”

It would seem that the knucker, while accommodating the request of The Coyote, had enough of the snark. A sharp move as the knucker turned around had Stiles and the two Omegas that helped his little family falling over into the water, his pups screaming, “ _Tato_!”

The Coyote turned around as he heard the groaning of wood, followed by the shattering of branches as the Shades broke through. “Shit!”

Stiles and the two Omegas floundered a moment before they three of them were rising up in the water on little pillars of water. The Coyote could see Stiles’ out stretched hand tremble as he tried to hold the three of them, trying to reach the knucker. Digging through, his own backpack, The Coyote pulled out a rope and fashioned a quick lasso out of it. A simple spin and he caught Stiles around the waist just as it seemed as he passed out, plummeting back into the water, but being dragged in by The Coyote and his pups. Stiles came up sputtering and retching up river water as his pups held him. He could barely make out Erica and Boyd floundering in the water desperately trying to catch up to the slippery serpent, but were being swept into the current. The blond wolf cried out as she and the other wolf were being swept away, “Help! Please!” Along the shore, more holes broke amongst the wall of branches Stiles had made. Stiles tried to reach out with his magic one more time to try and grab Erica and Boyd before he blacked out from pushing past his limits.

 <~~~~~>

“Stiles, wake up!”

With a gasp, Stiles eyes flew open as he arched his body like a bow being drawn, lifting himself and Derek, who was straddling him, off their bed with the sheer tension and panic. In the span of a breath, Stiles collapsed back onto the linens, but immediately grabbed up to Derek. The Alpha quickly wrapped his arms around his mate and both collapsed onto the bed. Stiles had a death grip on Derek’s back and twisted their legs together like a pretzel as he buried his face into the Alpha’s neck. Rampant shivers raced up and down Stiles’ body.

“It’s alright Stiles, I’ve got you.” Derek soothed.

Stiles whimpered. “Nightmare.”

“About Erica and Boyd?”

“Yeah…how’d you know?”

“I know you.”

“I let them go.”

“Erica and Boyd say otherwise.”

“I could have saved them.”

“You almost died as I understand it.” Stiles had stopped shivering but he still had a death grip on Derek. “Can I ask what happened?”

The fingers digging into Derek’s back pressed into his back a moment but then relaxed. The gap between Stiles’ and Derek’s bare bodies was filled with a small rush of cool air, sending goose bumps up and down their naked chests. Stiles looked into Derek’s eyes. “Not tonight. Just-just hold me for now. Please…”

Derek pressed Stiles to his chest, letting the rhythm of his heart steadily lull his mate back to sleep as he wrapped his arms around the man. It pained Derek during these times. There was no visceral target that he could rend with his claws to ease the pain or burden. The struggle was solely within Stiles. Derek lay in their bed, staring at the ceiling for an unknown amount of time before sleep took him as well only to be jolted awake by Liam for what felt like a moment later, but judging by the light flooding in through the windows, was in truth hours later. The little wolf shook his shoulder, “Papa, its time for breakfast. Dad says get your furry butt down stairs already. Erica and Boyd are up as well.”

Derek popped his head up to find Stiles’ noggin missing from its place on his chest last night. Rubbing his tired eyes free of sand, Derek growled, “I’ll be done in five minutes, pup.”

Liam bounded out of the room. “He’s coming!”

Derek grumbled a laugh as he rolled out of bed and bent over looking for his underwear. A trip to the bathroom and a mouth full of toothpaste later, Derek descended the stairs with a hop in his step. The rich aroma of buttery goodness assailed his nose as Derek took in the sight of Stiles manning the large electric skillet with various bowels all around him; chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, sliced bananas, blueberries, and three different bowls of batter. “Oh thank the moon, I love pancake mornings!”

Boyd, who sat at the breakfast nook with Erica, was currently digging into an impressive stack of pancakes that were covered in caramelized apples and cinnamon. “Good morning, Alpha.”

Derek waved off the remark as he walked behind Stiles and wrapped his arms around his waist before burying his nose into the pale neck and took a deep breath. “Derek is fine. I’m not that old fashioned.”

Stiles hummed and even slightly groaned as the Derek’s scruff scrapped along his neck. Erica raised an eyebrow as she nursed a cup of coffee. “Clearly.”

Ethan, who had been cutting up his second stack of blueberry pancakes, turned around and then sighed. “Could you two stop being gross until after breakfast?”

Putting his plate down from where he’d been licking up the melted chocolate chips, Aiden remarked, “Especially since dad is still cooking. No need for another eggplant incident.”

At the word ‘eggplant’, Erica observed Derek and Stiles go red and detached from each other. Stiles cleared his throat and squeaked out, “What would you like Derek?”

Walking over to the coffee pot, Derek pondered a moment. “Blueberry and banana? Wheat batter?”

Stiles chuckled. “Still the health nut despite those abs.”

“You don’t want me to get fat do you?” Derek pouted while taking a sip of the invigorating brew.

“Pft, everyone of you are wolves, you can’t get fat! Perpetual six packs and hotness is a thing. I, on the other hand, am the only human here. I’m the one that can get fat and ugly.”

Stiles smirked when Derek grabbed his ass when he walked to the other side of the kitchen counter. “We were thinking of taking Erica and Boyd into town to see Dad and Mama McCall. Get them looked over and officially registered would be the first things to getting them settled into town. They can stay with us here until they get onto their own feet.”

Derek took a sip of his coffee before leaning on top of Liam. The little wolf grinned as he held up his papa, who just grinned and slumped further, resting his chin on Liam’s blond head. “Good thinking. We can ask around and see if there aren’t any jobs opening while we’re at it.”

“I think Kira mentioned there was an opening for dispatch at the station. Boyd could work his way up and get into uniform eventually. After all, you haven’t gone back from your “paternity leave” from four years ago.”

Derek groused. “You liked me in that fireman’s calendar they made for the charity auction.”

Stiles snorted. “Every housewife in Beacon Hills probably still has that calendar up even if it is out dated. Thankfully, I’m the only one that knows what else is under the uniform.”

Derek let out a low rumble under hooded eyes that had Stiles shivering and Liam pinching his nose since he was sitting at the counter where Stiles was cooking and Derek was still on top of him. “Papa, stop grumbling and making Dad smell bedroom funny.”

Boyd unsuccessfully did not stop himself from spraying a mouth of pancakes all over the table as he choked out a laugh while Erica squealed and buried her face in her hands. Stiles spluttered. “Liam!”

Ethan and Aiden both covered their noses by now. “No way dad, total truth. You always get that awkward arousal smell whenever papa growls or rumbles.”

Stiles had an awkward expression on his face ready to retort to his twins when his face suddenly hardened into a grimace. He whipped open the window near the sink and looked around slowly. All the wolves could smell his sudden wariness and could see the tension in his shoulders. Erica opened her mouth but Derek’s upheld finger stalled her. Stiles eventually closed the window and let out a held breath. Derek placed a hand on his shoulder. “You alright?”

Stiles lightly shook his head. “I felt something outside. Like we were being probed or something.”

Ethan frowned. “Don’t you mean observed?”

“No, I felt something brush against my mind.”

Derek placed his coffee on the counter. “Are you sure it’s not some residual from the nightmare?”

Stiles stilled. “I guess. I’m not really sure. That night…” Stiles shivered. The other wolves aside from Derek nodded silently in remembrance.

The kitchen was silent before smoke began to fill the little room. Liam jumped away from the counter and into Derek, knocking his jaw shut. “DAD! BURNT PANCAKES!”

“OH SHIT!” Stiles dived at the skillet in a vain attempt to scrape at Derek’s charcoal briquettes.

<~~~~~>

Outside the Hale house, a sourceless shadow twisted its way around a tree and down a hole in the ground near its roots where it melted into darkness. “ ** _OADRIAX_** ** _NENNI OVCHO IADPIL! OI GAH-L OI LVCIFTIAN! OADRIAX IPAMIS OL!”_**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe...no translations for this part. If you can figure out what's being said, kudos to you! If not, SUFFER IN THE UNKNOWN!!!


	4. In dark time, the eye begins to see. – Cavett Robert

Liam was reading an e-book he had downloaded to his phone as Ethan and Aiden kept playing Red Hands to pass the time. Derek and Stiles were talking quietly amongst themselves. The pups had long learned to ignore their parents’ chatter least they hear more than they _ever_ wanted to hear. The three little wolves kept an ear out for their heartbeats and had learned to differentiate the different tempos that would either have them zero in on the conversation or just completely ignore it. The frequent visits to the hospital had become somewhat routine over the years living in Beacon Hills. From different supernatural encounters ( _“I swear I will send you back to Oberon’s court in pieces!” “Stiles, stop threatening the fairy.” “MY HAIR IS GREEN, DEREK!”_ ) to random accidents, ( _“Jackson, have you seen Allison’s smelting clamps?” “So there’s a funny story about that, Scott…”_ ), the staff at Beacon Hills Memorial had gotten to know the local werewolf pack rather well, not including Mama McCall, of course. She’d long been entwined in this world thanks to her son. Currently, she was with Erica and Boyd getting checked up and looked over.

Liam looked up just as Ethan managed to get Aiden with a particularly nice slap. Aiden waved his hand a moment to shake the pain away as Liam smirked. “Do we even call this Red Hands considering we heal faster than we can turn our hands red?”

Ethan was pensive a moment. “I mean, I guess? It’s just the name of the game.”

Liam countered. “But it’s named because you make your hands go red from the constant slapping.”

Aiden snorted as he hesitantly hovered his hands Ethan’s. “If things were taken that literal, then the USA should start calling soccer football, like the rest of the world. THAT would make sense right?”

“Ugh, I know.” Liam snorted. “Remember when we passed that one coastal town in Russia? Those other kids that invited us to play with them looked at us like we were idiots.”

Ethan crossed his eyes and pitched his voice.  “Вы, американцы, так глупо. Это называется футбол, потому что вы используете ваши ноги! Вы не носить его!”

Derek stopped talking to Stiles and stared at Ethan. “You can speak Russian?!” All three pups looked at Derek like he was nuts and just nodded. He turned to his fiancé. “Since when are the boys able to speak Russian?!”

Stiles tilted his head as he pondered. “About two years after Old Dragon threw me at them?”

“But you don’t know Russian!”

“I didn’t at the time, no. I learned with the pups. When we escaped into Hong Kong, I figured we’d need to know regional languages on the chance we’d get a way home some way.”

Derek double blinked. “Wait, so aside from English, Polish and Russian, what else can you all speak?”

Sliding his finger to Ethan, Stiles smirked as his son rolled his eyes. "Zhōngguó xiǎnrán, kǎolǜ rúhé chángqí shēnghuó zài nàlǐ. Wǒmen zhīdào sì zhǒng yǔyán liúlì." 

Derek was dumbfounded. “Our pups-”

“Papa! We’re not pups!”

“-are polyglots?”

Stiles playfully frowned and bobbed his head from side to side before answering. “Yes.”

Derek’s eyes were wide. “Wow, how come none of you ever said anything?”

Liam shrugged. “You never asked. Everyone just assumed we’re only bilingual from when we were little, but we know four languages fluently.”

Derek turned to Stiles with awe in his eyes and reverence in his voice. “You taught them three languages in four and a half years.”

Stiles blushed. “It’s not that impre-mph!” Three little wolves fake gaged as Derek cut Stiles off with rather smoky kiss. The moment didn’t last long as it was interrupted by someone clearing their throat. Derek slightly jumped back into his seat a little flushed where as Stiles had a glazed look in his eyes and a very dopey smile with slightly swollen lips. Liam, Ethan and Aiden turned to find Mama McCall standing with a blushing Erica and Boyd looking in every other direction except for Derek and Stiles.

Mama McCall cocked an eyebrow as she looked down at her clipboard. “Well, I’m glad you found a way to keep yourselves from getting in trouble, Stiles, Derek.”

Stiles lazily swung his head towards his surrogate mother with the same dopey smile he’d been wearing for the last minute. “I am totally innocent here.”

Mama McCall turned her gaze to Aiden, who shook his head. “Uh huh, like I believe that.”

Erica piped in. “Moving along…”

“Right,” Mama McCall clicked her pen and stuck it in her front pocket. “So, it looks like there is gonna be another guest at the wedding!”

Stiles lost his dopey grin and his eyes focused. “Come again?”

Mama McCall smirked. “Erica is just about 11 weeks along now.”

“Oh my god!” Stiles yelped as he jumped up to hug the blonde. “Your pregnant!?”

Derek snickered. “Well, we all knew that.”

Stiles looked offended. “Excuse you! Why didn’t you tell me?!”

A shrug and a smirk was all Stiles got for an answer from his fiancé. He turned back to Boyd and punched him in the arm. “You big sack of manliness! Ready to be a dad?!”

Boyd’s eyes went wide a little bit before he gently nodded. “I certainly hope so.”

Derek got up, as did the three little wolves, and placed a hand on Boyd’s shoulder. “Things will be settled for you two before the baby gets here. I promise.”

A whistle had Stiles reaching for his phone. “Jackson sent a text. He’s got all the paper work we need at the Sheriff’s station. The Argents will be meeting us there to make things all official. You two are about to be registered as Hale Pack! This calls for a celebration! Who wants Chinese?!”

Three hours (and a very distraught buffet owner) later found the pack walking out of the Sheriff’s station with Chris Argent walking out with them. Derek and Stiles trailed behind, the pups hung around their parents, as Boyd and Erica chatted with Chris. The blonde wolf was positively bubbling. “This is exciting! We’ve never really settled in one place before! We’ve always had to be on the move. Not many packs are willing to take in mated Omegas, let alone one with a pup on the way.”

A silent nod was all Boyd added to the conversation. Chris smiled and returned the nod. “Well, Beacon Hills does have a rather unconventional and very non-traditional pack in residence.”

The snort that came from Erica was rather un-ladylike. “Stiles is involved, of course it’s unconventional.”

“Hey!” Stiles squawked indignantly from behind her.

“Just telling it like it is!” Erica shouted over her shoulder.

Aiden’s voice carried from the behind her as well. “She does have a point, dad.”

“Et tu, Aiden?!”

“I don’t speak Spanish, dad.”

“That’s Latin, pup.” Derek corrected.

“Papa!”

“Not sorry.”

“UGH!”

Chris smirked at Boyd as he gestured back. “I rest my case.”

Five voices rose together behind the trio. “Oye! We resent that!”

Boyd stopped in his tracks and everyone did as well. He turned his head and stared at Derek, Stiles and the pups while Erica and Chris shared a confused look. Stiles double blinked. “You ok there, Boyd?”

“Did you five really just say that all in sync?”

All five let out bashful and nervous chuckles while Chris smirked again. “I know this may sound crazy, but trust me, this is normal for them. It actually plays off pretty well for the pack.”

Erica tilted her head. “How so?”

Chris looked up to the sky and mildly frowned in thought. “I think seeing is believing in this case. I believe the pack has training this evening?”

Derek raises an eyebrow. “Yes we do. I wasn’t going to have Boyd and Erica come to training so soon though.”

Chris shook his head and waved away the remark. “I was thinking more of an observation, not participation setting for them. Let them see what kind of psychos you both are during training.”

Stiles and Derek looked offended as the three little wolves laughed, hard. Ethan had to brace himself on his knees. “Oh man, that is spot on. Dad and papa can be monsters during training, but it’s the first time I’ve heard them called psychos.”

With a sly smirk, Chris crossed his arms and chuckled. “With them in hearing range at least.”

The three little wolves dissolved into fits of laughter while Boyd and Erica shook their heads. Stiles and Derek shared an annoyed squint and tight lips with each other.

 

<~~~~~>

 

“So explain to us again why we have clear, full-body riot shields for this?” Boyd asked once more.

Lydia sighed and rolled her eyes. Her voice was rather clipped. “You know what? I’m not explaining this a third time. How bout you watch and see, yes?”

Danny claps Boyd on the shoulder. “Dude, you do not want to get in any further crap than you already are. Just let sleeping wolves lie.”

Boyd glances at him but just nods. Derek huffs next to Boyd, arms crossed and a rather fierce scowl to his brow. Lydia smirked. “You know, this isn’t a bad thing. Having you sit out every once in a while does allow you to analyze things from an outside view.”

Danny chuckled. “And it isn’t going to be a completely one-sided fight this time around.”

Lydia nodded. “Quite true. Just mostly.”

With a piqued eyebrow, Erica turned her attention to Lydia. “Just mostly one sided?”

The strawberry blonde tapped a finger to her lips. “What do you know about what Stiles and his sons can do?”

“Not much really. Just that he has a little magic. We never got to see them in much action or anything.”

Danny smiled and pointed. “Then watch and be prepared. It looks like they are starting soon.”

Stiles and his sons stood on one side of the clearing. Stiles wore black baggy yoga pants and a red linen shirt with leather ties at the neck and black Tom’s shoes. He carried a sheathed sword at his side. Ethan and Aiden, who actually stood an inch taller than their dad now (much to Stiles’ lamentations) wore black combat boots and dark, ripped up blue jeans and black v-necks. They twins were at that stage of life where they were long limbed and lean, but the onset of their eventual musculature was already evident, given their lives and their dad’s training regiment. Liam on the other hand was wearing a spandex tank top, a pair of tight-fit, blue runner leggings and trail running shoes. Everything about the twins said _I will kick your ass and not break a sweat_ while Liam was _so fast you’ll never see me coming_.

The Betas and Allison stood facing them. Jackson was dressed in a black and white sleeveless UnderArmour shirt with tan cargo shorts and hiking boots. Scott wore a black tank top and gray cargo pants and sneakers. Isaac had on a simple gray t-shirt and black jeans while walking around the woods barefoot. Allison stood by in full black Hunter gear. An assortment of knives and small crossbows were strapped to her body.

Erica looked from one side to the other. “This doesn’t really look very fair.”

Danny nodded. “True, but this would only be even if Derek and one of the pups-“

“We are NOT pups, Uncle Danny!”

“-joined the Betas side.” Danny finished with a smirk.

Lydia chuckled. “Stiles is a force of nature.”

Derek actually cracked a grin. “That’s one way of putting it and come to think of it, STILES!” His mate turned to him. “Fire only!” A petulant scowl was on Stiles’ face as he turned back to the Betas.

“What does that mean?” Boyd asked.

Boyd’s question was left unanswered as Derek put to fingers to his mouth and let out a whistle, signaling the practice bout. Stiles and the pups all dropped into their preferred stances as the Allison and the Betas fanned out and attempted to encircle them.

Being the quickest and the lightest, Allison made her way all the way around to the opposite of her starting position where as Jackson and Scott moved to the left and the right. Isaac crouched in his starting point. Stiles and the pups stood shoulder to shoulder, slowly moving in circle as they eyed the others. The opening serve would go to Allison as she pulled up one of her crossbows and let loose a bolt. Stiles was facing her and he easily deflected the bolt with his sword, but almost missed the throwing knife Allison had launched as fraction of a second later. Stiles advanced on Allison, unsheathing the blade with a flash of fire he sent careening at the Huntress.

Erica gasped as she watched Allison duck the flames and advanced on Stiles as well, unsheathing two silver daggers and she began to trade blows with him. Stiles tried to skewer Allison, but the Huntress let his sword skim past her, shielded by one blade while thrusting the other towards Stiles’ face. The lanky man tilted his head to the side and back, letting the stab and slash completely whiff by before whipping up his left hand and tried to smack the dagger out of Allison’s grip with the wooden sheath of the sword. The Huntress smirked as the wooden sheath smacked the bony back of her hand, sending a jolt of pain lancing up her arm.

Boyd turned to see the pups had not broken from their formation, still standing shoulder to shoulder in a triangle. Isaac, Jackson and Scott growled in unison before launching a coordinated assault. Boyd’s grip on the shield clenched, thinking that the pups were about to be trounced by the older wolves. That wasn’t how things played out.

Isaac tried an arm thrust, claws out, at Ethan only to have the blow parried and answered with two hands digging into his forearm from being caught before Isaac felt a kick to his stomach that sent him back a step and Ethan fully engaging him in a fight. Aiden drew Scott in close to him as Liam stood back to back as Jackson prowled about, being leery of the pups. Little feints and posturing kept the nephews just out of reach of their uncles.

From the sideline, Erica watched as Stiles controlled the flow of his duel with Allison to the point where she had her back to the pups and Stiles had a clear view of everyone else. With a quick thrust, Stiles attempted to skewer Allison only to have his blow parried once more to the side of her head. Allison smirked a moment before she felt a hot flash across the back of her neck. A quick peak over her shoulder let Allison see a fireball flying towards Scott. She turned and made a face at Stiles, who smirked back.

As Scott made a move to advance, claw raised high, Aiden huffed, “Kryj się!” Liam and Aiden dove out of the way as Scott suddenly felt something collide and explode against his back, sending him propelling forward straight into a very surprised Jackson. Both Betas went down in a heap of limbs. Isaac suddenly found himself surrounded by his nephews and knew he was screwed.

Erica whistled low. “Wow, Stiles and the boys sent that up like a billiards shot and they didn’t even say anything.”

Derek preened, not taking his eyes off the training, making notes in his head to go over with the pack as Lydia ho-hummed in well placed confidence. “When Derek and Stiles fight together? Its bloody poetry in motion.”

Erica sighed. “Seriously? You’re not British, right?”

The cold smile on Lydia’s face scared Erica. “Oh no, I’m not using ‘bloody’ as an intensifier. The usual bloodbath between those two when they both go at it? Big reason why Beacon Hills is quiet. Hardly-“

Everyone in the clearing felt the earth begin to shake and groan. Stiles and Allison froze as the pups and the Betas scrambled up. The pack regrouped towards where Derek and the other observers stood. A network of cracks began to appear in the ground as the rumbling grew in tempo and octave. Danny, Lydia, Erica and Boyd huddled behind their riot shields where as Derek, Stiles, the pups and the Betas formed an offensive line. A mound began to grow in the middle before it erupted. Everyone reflexively shielded themselves from the flying debris.

Stiles looked up and could see a black monstrosity crawling out of the massive hole. It stood at least twelve feet tall, long arms and standing on thick legs with knees bent the other way. “Does this thing remind any of you of Jabba’s Rancor except it looks to be made of black ink?”

He was met with silence as all the others looked at him confused. Derek scowled. “There’s nothing there, Stiles.”

Stiles looked back to see the demonic face turn pale eyes to him and opened its dripping maw. With a resigned sigh, Stiles grumbled. “I’m the only one that can see it. It’s fucking Alberta all over again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **“Вы, американцы, так глупо. Это называется футбол, потому что вы используете ваши ноги! Вы не носить его!”** = "You Americans are so stupid. It's called football because you use your feet! You don't carry it"  
>  **"Zhōngguó xiǎnrán, kǎolǜ rúhé chángqí shēnghuó zài nàlǐ. Wǒmen zhīdào sì zhǒng yǔyán liúlì."** = "Chinese obviously, considering how long we lived there. We know four languages fluently"  
>  **“Kryj się!"** = Take cover!


	5. Branded

“FAN OUT NOW!”

At Stiles command, every one dispersed like a bubble popping just as the creature’s massive fist created a small crater and explosion where the pack was just standing.

“The fuck just happen?!” Jackson cried out as he shielded Lydia with his body.

“Big monster, my eyes only, DO WHAT I SAY!” Stiles snapped. “Zac! D-N-D left!”

Eyes still locked on Stiles, Isaac executed a perfect Duck & Dodge, narrowly avoiding the creature acquainting its claws with his cherubic face. Stiles glared at Scott, flicked his hand at him and then made a slash to the right with the same hand. Scott instantly jumped back and dodged to the right as the creature tried to drive him into the ground like a golf tee. A look to Liam and a quick jerk of his head to the right as well had his son jumping and narrowly avoiding the backhand swing of the creature’s massive fist.

Derek snarled next to him. “What is it?!”

Stiles kept his focus on everyone around, wordlessly commanding to dance and move out of the way of the creature’s attempts to attack. It seemed like a slow, dumb beast but it’s sheer size and nature had Stiles being exceptionally leery. “Not sure. Talk later. Busy saving lives.”

“Tell me where its throat is and I’ll rip it out!”

Stiles still weaving his hands like a conductor as he continued his silent commanding. “Ugh, it doesn’t look like it has one?”

“Fuck sake, are you kidding me?!” Derek glared incredulously at Stiles.

Stiles huffed. “Like its my fault I don’t know it’s biology?!”

Derek’s growl was rough. “The fuck are we going to do?! We can’t see the damn thing and I can’t smell it either!”

Erica gasped. “It’s like the Shades in Canada!”

Derek turned to the blond wolf. “The what and where?”

“When we were trying to cross the wilderness in Canada to get into the US, we disturbed some ruins or whatever and Stiles warned us that these creatures were after us. No one believed him until one of the group was dragged kicking and screaming into the night!”

“So you ran?”

Boyd interjected. “You bet your ass we ran! Stiles was the only one that could see them but this thing sounds bigger than the ones chasing us.”

“Then how’d you fight them!?”

“We didn’t! We ran! We just said that!”

Derek had to think. It would be useless trying to fight at something they couldn’t see, smell or hear and Stiles, the only one that could see them, was busy trying to keep everyone else away and alive from the thing as it went around trying to pound them all into the ground. A _twang_ preceded a crossbow bolt lodging itself the body of the beast. The thing looks down and let out an irritated roar. All the wolves jumped back on instinct as the creature turned in the direction of the Huntress. Stiles took the opportunity to send a wave of fire with a slash of his sword at the creature only for it to splash around the beast and not doing a damn thing except irritate it further. A quick hand movement had Scott and Ethan running as it began to chase.

Derek turned to Allison. “How’d you know where to aim?”

The Huntress never took her eyes away from where here bolt seemed to float in the air as she reloaded her crossbow. “I’ve been following where Stiles’ keeps his eyes.”

Turning to his mate, Derek understood. Stiles kept his eyes focused and flicked his eyes side to side only when he was directing a pack member away. Otherwise, his vision and focus was squarely in a single spot. “Stiles, did the bolt do anything to the creature?”

“Other than annoy it?”

“Ok, so ‘no’ then.”

“Good job, Sourwolf.” Stiles directed Aiden and Liam over and under the creatures whiplash tail.

“Where did Allison hit it?”

“Left side where you’d probably find ribs?”

“Confident in your answer there.”

“It’s not hard to imagine when I said it looks like a Rancor!”

“A what?”

“Seriously, I’m making the next pack night a Star Wars marathon.”

Erica perked up. “One through three as well?”

Danny piped in. “Save the nerd talk for later!”

Derek grunted before turning to Allison again. “Give a crossbow to Stiles.”

Without breaking her concentration, the Huntress unclipped her spare crossbow and gave it to Derek. Stiles kept coordinating and didn’t reach for the crossbow Derek held. “Stiles, shoot that thing in the face, right between the eyes.”

“The bolts don’t hurt it!”

“But it will give us something we can target!”

The creature let out a massive roar that had Stiles’ stomach clenching and the ground vibrating. It slammed its fists to the ground, sending dirt and rocks flying in every direction. Not causing any specific damage, it did cause a problem. Stiles lost sight of some of the pack. A moment later, Jackson was sent flying out of the dust cloud and slammed into a tree followed by Liam flying in the opposite direction crashing to the ground and rolling to a stop. Stiles’ heart stopped a beat as the two wolves were motionless. “Jackson! Liam!”

Derek shoved the crossbow into Stiles sword-free hand. “Stiles!”

With well-practiced motion, Stiles brought the sights up and let the bolt fly right into the monstrous creature’s pale eye. Shrieking in painful notes that only Stiles could hear, the monster did actually try to grasp the small bolt out of its eye. “I got it in the eye!”

The Alpha sprang high into the air and landed on what appeared to be thin air and sank his claws into the creature’s head. Lydia looked thoughtful. “It’s pretty big.”

Erica just looked at the strawberry blonde. Her attention went back to Derek, who was weaving up and around on his seat in the middle of the air; Stiles was orchestrating Derek to avoid the massive creature’s attempts to swat him away. After a few moments of riding an invisible bucking monster, Derek let his legs loosen just a moment where he was suddenly hanging upside down with his legs still wrapped around the creature’s neck. With a roar, Derek sundered what he hoped was the creature’s throat. Everything in the clearing suddenly stilled. Derek dropped to the ground and ran towards where Liam struggled to get up.

Stiles watched with bated breath as the creature was motionless. He could see a black ooze leeching from where Derek had rend the creature’s neck. After a moment, the creature’s one pale, undamaged eye shifted black and roared with such ferocity, Stiles braced himself against the sheer concussive force. “Shit!” Stiles eyes flared white and with a quick weaves and strikes, wooden tendrils erupted around the creature’s feet and wound themselves around the beast. The creature was bound but it was clear it was going to break free if Stiles’ didn’t do something. He rushed at the creature, hearing a ‘ _STILES!’_ from behind him. Only he can see the creatures, it was his burden to bear. Leaping up into the air, Stiles brought his sword up into the shreds of the creature’s neck. His sword met the meaty and boney resistance, but was not hindered. A burning sensation spread on his back as the creature’s fluids dripped down but Stiles ignored it. He almost cleared completely through the monstrous neck when he felt the creature’s hand come sailing up and knocking him away into a tree as the burning sensation clung to his back. Stiles’ last conscious sight was the creature’s head rolling away as he sank to the ground. Stiles could feel a smirk on his lips. “Nothing to lose your head over.”

 

<~~~~~>

 

Mama McCall sighed and rubbed her weary eyes. The beeping of the heart monitor was the only sound within Stiles’ hospital room as Melissa looked at the young man she had nurtured as a child. As Stiles and Allison were the only humans that regular fought with the pack, they were the ones that would often end up in the hands of the Beacon Hills Memorial staff. She gently carded her fingers through his hair. “You need to stop giving me gray hairs, son.”

The stars had long made their appearance when Derek came barreling through the ER with Stiles hanging listless over his shoulder. Just earlier in the morning, Melissa was ribbing the two for being cuddly in public and now Stiles was laying on his chest, face turned to the side with Derek sleeping in a chair next to him. The boys were asleep in a mass on the small couch in the back of the room. Melissa stroked Stiles’ check as she looked at the cobweb of thin cotton bandages covering Stiles’ back. The ER doctor wasn’t sure what to make of the mess that was Stiles’ back but he was treating it as a second-degree burn at the time.

A knock at the door startled Derek awake; his hackles up, eyes flaring and a growling rumbling as Melissa came over and bopped him on the head. “Stop that. Sniff and find out who it is.”

Looking like a scolded puppy, Derek took a deep breath. “Come in, Erica.”

The she-wolf carefully opened the door and poked her head in. “Is it alright if I come in?”

Derek beckoned her in. “Please.”

Grabbing a chair from the other side of the room, Erica lifted the chair up and brought it near the foot of Stiles’ bed. “How is he?”

Melissa ran a hand over Stiles’ arm. “Still out. Derek has been pain leeching him every once in a while so he’s not under any duress. His back is our main concern at this point.”

“Anything new?” Erica asked.

Derek shook his head. “The doctor still doesn’t understand what happened. He said the damage looks like a second degree burn, but the way it looks seems impossible for something dripping onto Stiles’ back.”

Erica could see the vague shape through the salve and bandages. “Does it mean something?”

Derek rubbed a tired hand over his face. “Danny and Lydia are looking into it now. Hopefully they find something.”

Erica bit her lower lip. “And maybe we can find out what that thing even was?”

Derek’s eyes flashed crimson red as a low growl rumbled within his chest. A moment later, three answering growls had Erica and Melissa turning to see the boys awake, claws at the ready and cool blue eyes glowing as they searched the room for a threat. Seeing Erica, the boys advanced on her on pure instinct. A foreign wolf was too close to their injured dad! Erica and Melissa were wide eyed as the boys stalked over but Derek’s low growl stop them in their tracks. “Zamrażać. “Wycofać się! Powrót.” The boys stopped in their tracks, huffing and claws twitching.

Melissa let out a breath. “Derek, calm down or I am throwing you and the pups out of the hospital.”

The pups all settled down at the threat. “Sorry, _Babica_.”

“Its alright boys, for now. Don’t let it happen again.”

Derek huffed out of his nostrils. “I take it you don’t know much about the creatures then? Even from before?”

Erica shook her head. “Stiles was the only one that could see them or do anything about them. They chased us for days without stopping. Remember when Boyd mentioned him being sleep deprived and starved?” Derek nodded in silence. “This was that time when Stiles lost us. Our guide, The Coyote, apparently knew about the possibility of the creatures existing through local legends, but never believed it.”

Derek sat forward in his chair. “Could we contact this coyote person?”

Erica shook her head. “The Coyote comes to you, never the other way around. Also, I doubt you’d find him considering he lives out in the sticks of Canada.”

“It’s worth a shot if we can figure out what the hell we’re dealing with.“ Derek groused.

Ethan stepped forward. “Papa, it was almost impossible for us to reach out to The Coyote the first time. We’ll never find him without dad.”

“Then we’ll wait till dad-”

Derek went wide-eyed as he snapped his head to Stiles. Everyone else followed his gaze and could hear what had caught his attention. Stiles was muttering something under his breath. Derek was next to Stiles and looked him in the face. “Stiles. Stiles! Can you hear me?”

With a jerk, Stiles opened his eyes and Derek’s heart froze. Pale eyes stared through him as Stiles repeatedly muttered, “ ** _Zorge. Esiasch. Noromi._** ”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Zamrażać.** = Freeze.  
>  **Wycofać sie.** = Stand down.  
> 


	6. Details create the big picture - Sanford I. Weill

Stiles felt the sun on his face coming in from the window. Taking a deep breath, he inhaled the soft lavender of the new laundry detergent he had bought. With everyone else’s sensitive noses, Stiles had been buying non-scented detergents, but this new one didn’t make everyone gag from being too strong. His morning wood was firmly squashed into the mattress with his arms folded underneath his pillow as well. Derek had insisted on the silk sheets and Stiles’ naked body thoroughly enjoyed them. He felt the bed shift before he felt a soft kiss on his neck. “Morning, Sourpatch.”

“Morning, Sourwolf.”

Feeling a familiar weight settle on top of his back, Stiles smiled as he felt a clean-shaven chin bury itself into his neck and take a deep breath. He loved these lazy mornings when the chaos that was usually their lives was absent. Thankfully, it was summer vacation so there was no need to rush the boys out of the house today. Stiles rolled over, Derek propped himself on his hands and knees before laying back down once Stiles was on his back. Derek growled under hooded eyes. “Seems you have a bit of a stiff muscle there.”

Stiles chuckled. “That was the worst morning pickup line ever. You’re lucky I love you.” Stiles craned his head to meet Derek’s lips with his in a quick peck before Derek began to crawl under the comforter. A lazy grin spread across Stiles’ face, which lasted about ten seconds.

Pounding at the door instantly killed the mood. Ethan’s and Aiden’s voice filtered through. “DAD! PAPA! Come on, it’s time for breakfast!”

Derek flopped his head on Stiles’ stomach, not having even making it past the belly button. “Why us? Couldn’t they be like normal teenagers and sleep in all the time? They can’t be lazy?”

Stiles ran his fingers through Derek’s hair as he smirked. “My fault, I guess. Years of living with lots of chores for survival and all.”

After rushing around trying to find their misplaced underwear after a rather raucous night, Derek and Stiles made their way down to the kitchen. Aiden was busy setting the table as Liam was dicing up some fresh strawberries and bananas for the yogurt as Ethan crack some eggs into the skillet. All three of his sons turned to their entrance and playfully gagged. “Oh shut it the three of you. Derek would have warned me if we weren’t acceptable.”

Liam snorted. “That’s because papa is whipped.”

“Hey!” Derek snapped as Stiles laughed.

In time, the little family was seated around the table enjoying breakfast. Liam seemed to fidget more than usual. Stiles settled back in his chair and crossed his arms with a sigh. “Ok, what is it, pup? I know you want to ask something.”

Liam looked to his older brothers, who just nodded encouragingly. “Dad, papa, do you think it would be okay if I-I mean-you know that I’m ten now and that was-was when…”

Derek leaned forward resting his forearms on the table. “Go ahead, Liam. What is it?”

Stiles and Derek both sat on the edge of their seats waiting for a minute before Liam finally blurted what was on his tongue. “CAN I PLAY TENNIS LIKE THE TWINS?!”

Derek smiled. “Of course. Perhaps we should go into town and get you a racket? We can look into getting you into some off season training camp like we did with Ethan and Aiden.”

Stiles interrupted the Alpha. “Don’t forget you need to go into town today to meet up with Jackson to go over those papers he’s been needing your approval on. You’ve been putting it off for a week now.”

Derek groaned as he hung his head. “Fiiiiinnneeee. You take the pups into town and have fun. I’ll go be a grownup.”

“Love you, Sourwolf.”

“Bite me, Sourpatch.”

Aiden chimed in. “Not at the table.”

An hour later had Stiles and the boys piling into an old, beat up red Jeep where as Derek got into his silver Camaro. The boys waved at Derek. “Bye papa! Have fun being responsible and everything!”

Stiles attempted to stop his laugh and ended up snorting very hard. Derek glared at them all while he faux pouted. “Don’t have too much fun without me.” With a screech of tires, the silver Camaro lurched forward and speed down the driveway.

Smothering his laughter and trying to gain control of himself, Stiles pretended to adjust the rearview mirror where he saw three smiling faces at him from the back seat. Liam, sitting in the passenger seat, poked him in the side. “Come on dad, stop being a goofball and let’s get going!”

“Alright, alright. Keep your shirts on already.” Stiles said smoothly. He turned back to Ethan and Aiden in the backseat. “Did you two need to get your rackets re-strung? It’s been a couple of months since you pulled them out.”

Speaking in stereo as they often do, the twins addressed Stiles. “We checked earlier, their good. We’ll work with Li-Li on getting him up to speed on everything.”

Stiles smiled as he got the car in gear and drove down the road.

 

<~~~~~>

 

Derek scratched at his scruffy chin as he wearily sat across from Jackson and Lydia in their home office. Danny and Isaac were off looking for apartments with Erica and Boyd while Scott and Allison were with Stiles and the pups. Jackson pushed a cup of coffee towards the Derek, who accepted it gratefully. “Thank you.”

Jackson had a sad smile on his face. “Are you sure you want to go over all this now? We can post pone it if you want.”

Derek waved away the words as he set the mug down after taking a gloriously rejuvenating sip. “This needs to be taken care of as fast as possible. I want to get back to Stiles and the pups. What do I need to see?”

Lydia pulled out a few documents from her pile. “Danny and I identified the design on Stiles’ back. It’s called the _triquetra._ It’s a very old symbol that possibly links back to Norse mythology although it is often more associated with Celtic origins and it’s use in Christianity, as its also known as the _‘trinity knot’_. Some records show it being used in runic work for German paganism. There’s not much in it being an overly powerful rune or anything.”

“Anything pertaining to our current situation?”

Jackson looked to the Alpha. “Lydia and Danny think it probably has to relate to something with the three words Stiles repeats. What they could mean, we’re still not sure. They will dig in deeper once Danny gets back from helping our two new packmates.”

Derek scrubbed his hands into his tired face. “Do we even have any idea what we are dealing with? Creatures that only Stiles can see and hear?”

Shaking her head, Lydia sighed. “We’ve never heard of anything like this. We may need to touch base with other sources and see if they have an idea where we can even begin to look. There shouldn’t be anything your noses can’t detect.”

Derek’s gaze drifted back to the _triquetra_. “You know, this reminds me of my tattoo.”

Jackson blinked. “The _triskelle_?”

“Yeah, notice how all the parts connect but still have three different sections to it?”

Lydia snaps the document back, the tight bun on her head almost pointing accusingly at Derek for not mentioning this point earlier as she bent down to scrutinize the _triquetra_ further. Lydia’s scowl deepens as she grabs the papers and runs off without saying a word leaving Jackson and Derek dumbfounded at her sudden actions.

 

<~~~~~>

 

“Dad! No more pictures! Stop it!”

Ethan snorts. “Li-Li, give up. Dad is in full-on mother-hen mode. You’ll be lucky he doesn’t end up pinching your cheeks-“

“MY LITTLE LIAM IS GETTING SO BIG!!!!” Stiles cried out as he grabbed Liam’s face in his hands and puckers Liam’s face like a fish. Liam’s eyes are wide from surprise and desperately flick to his older brothers silently seeking assistance but finding none. “Oh my gosh, I still remember holding you as a little toddler and now look at you! All done up like the next Novac Djokovic!”

It should be noted the sales associate at the sports store is desperately trying to hold in a laugh by biting his lips. Liam was dressed in a blue and white tennis shorts and a polo that set off his blue eyes amazingly. Ethan and Aiden hung back and enjoyed the blush creeping up on Liam’s face as Stiles continued to take pictures with his phone. Aiden smirked. “Just wait until you’re first game, Li-Li.”

At the thought, Liam began stripping his polo off. “Forget it! I don’t want to play tennis anymore!”

Stiles laughed. “Alright, alright, I’m done. No more crazy, embarrassing dad, I promise.”

Liam puckered his lips and squinted a moment. A laugh from behind him drew everyone’s attention as Scott made his way towards everyone. “Bud, Stiles has been my brother since we were toddlers. What you see is what you get. All 177lbs of crazy.”

The expression on Liam’s face went from annoyance to resignation in a matter of seconds as Ethan and Aiden grinned in their little brothers acceptance of his lot in life. The twins accepted all this years ago. Stiles sent a withering glare at his brother. “Thank you, Scott. That was completely uncalled for.”

“But absolutely necessary!”

Stiles rolled his eyes. “And where is your better half currently? Should she be here babysitting you?”

“Allison is with Erica and Boyd right now. She wanted to go over some additional stuff with them while they look for a place to call home with Isaac and Danny.” Scott paused and blinked. “Hey! What do you mean she’s my better half!?”

Stiles and the pups all laughed. After calming down and paying for their purchase, Stiles and the four wolves walked out of the store. The summer sun was high but there was a very nice breeze blowing and keeping an oppressive heat from developing. Ethan and Aiden were talking to Liam all about what to expect with the summer tennis camp they had done before, their little brother hanging on every word his older brothers were advising. The sight warmed Stiles’ heart and a smile bloomed on his face. A gentle nudge had him turning to Scott who inclined his head to his nephews with his own crooked smile. “Bringing back memories?”

Stiles lightly chuckled. “Oh yeah. You know, the twins are just about the age you were bitten. Its crazy to really think about the fact it’s been over a decade since then.”

“I know what you mean. Despite all the crazy shit we deal with over the years, I wouldn’t change anything that’s happened to us.”

Stiles smile faltered a moment. “Maybe you wouldn’t change what happened to you…”

Scott could read Stiles just as easily as if spoke out his feelings. Placing two hands on Stiles’ shoulders, Scott whispered, “I know you hated your five years away, but look at it this way: you have a lifetime with your sons to look forward to because of it all.”

Both adults turned to see Ethan and Aiden excitedly miming a match as they walked to the red, beat up, old jeep with Liam’s mouth hanging slightly open as he absorbed every word. Scott was right, despite the shit he dealt with, Ethan, Aiden and Liam more than outweighed the bad. His life felt whole, complete with just the thought of his pups being near.

Stiles smiled as they got to the Jeep. “Who wants lunch at the diner?!”

Five excited voices filled the air around Stiles. Stiles just threw his head back in a laugh, feeling the sunshine on his face.

 

<~~~~~~>

 

Derek pulled his black Camaro into lot, seeing Allison’s car he parked next to it. Making his way in, he nodded to Doug at the register, who was talking to another customer. Derek zeroed in on Allison’s scent and made his way to the booth.

“Papa.” A tired voice filled the air before Derek was being gently surrounded by his sons. Ethan and Aiden laid a head on his shoulders as Liam pressed his face to Derek’s chest.

“Hi pups.”

“Papa…”

“Still not sorry.”

All three of his sons huffed but that was about it. He looked over to Allison who gestured with her head for them to sit down. Liam ended up sitting next to his Aunt Ally, snuggling up next to her whereas Ethan and Aiden had Derek sandwiched between. Allison had already ordered for everyone so they were just waiting for their food to arrive. “What did Jackson and Lydia have to show you?”

“They’ve identified something that looks like Stiles’ back. Basically, its an old symbol with a various ambiguous history with potential for lots of meanings.”

Allison huffed as she leaned on her forearms. “So we got a key but no idea where the lock is.”

Derek shrugged. “Just about.”

“Well, Danny and Isaac called earlier to say that they’ve found a place where Erica and Boyd can settle into. They want to come over tomorrow to discuss things with you about the full moon rites next month.”

The conversation stalled as Doug came over with food for the table. “And we’re getting your take out ready for you. It should be finished just about when you all finish eating.”

Allison smiled. “Thanks Doug.” Derek raised an eyebrow at her when Doug left. “It’s for Scott.”

Derek sniffed and frowned. “Where’s Scott?”

Pain flashed across her face. “Still with Stiles, I’ll bring it back to him when I go pick him up. Wanted more time with him.”

Sadness hit Derek’s nose in waves. “You ok boys?”

Derek felt slight shakes at his shoulders, mirrored by Liam’s own shaking head. “It was really hard to be with dad today. It-it was like he was someone else. It wasn’t dad.”

Liam began to sob. The little wolf hiccuped and tried to keep it quiet. Allison wrapped an arm around the boy as his tears fell. Derek felt the twins both turn their faces into his shoulders to hide their own tears as it began to soak into his henley. Their papa just grabbed their hands and squeezed them tight as he rested his head on the top of Aiden’s. He wouldn’t cry, but his own heart could break all the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I welcome you to my parlour, said the author to the reader,  
> Tis wonderful that you have come, do come nearer,  
> The way into my parlour is down this winding way,  
> And I have many curious stories to shew should you chose to stay.


	7. The First Thread

The bar was quiet for a Friday night. The incoming storm from Pacific had a lot of normal patrons snuggled up at home for the night prepared to let the storm roll by. Of course, that isn’t the case with Erica, Boyd, Derek, Isaac and Danny, all of whom were seated in one of the larger booths. One beer, three ales and a lemonade glistened with condensation in the bar air. Derek leaned on his forearms as he looked to the Erica and Boyd. “How are things settling for you guys? Any complications?”

Boyd shook his head. “Everything is going so smoothly. I had my interview with Captain Yukimura and I’m set to start by the end of the week. We’re all moved into the apartment and Erica is even finished with the nursery. I cannot believe how smooth and easy you have made it for us to just-just live!”

Erica patted Boyd’s forearm and smiled. “Seriously, it’s almost like a fairy tale with how things have been going. We’ve been rejected so often and even driven away from other pack territories, coming to Beacon Hills has been like something from a dream.”

Reaching for something under the table, Danny addressed the she-wolf. “Speaking of dreams, there is something we wanted to talk to you about.” Danny’s eyebrows furrowed as he continued to rummage, his arm moving back and forth as rustling could be heard from under the table.

“What’s that?” Boyd asked.

Danny’s eyebrows straightened as he pulled out a peculiar book from under the table. It was pale yellow and old. “Derek mentioned that Stiles had a nightmare about you two and Erica, you mentioned something about Shades in Canada during the training session from Hell?”

Erica whined in sympathy for Stiles. “It was about that time where Stiles tried to save us and lost us near the water dragon.”

Derek huffed. “Could you tell us what happened? Stiles was going to tell me but…”

A heaviness hung about everyone for a moment before Boyd cleared his throat and recanted the tale of their mad dash to the knucker and Stiles trying to save everyone with his magic. Danny looked pensive but his grip on the book tightened after Boyd was finished. “How do you know they were Shades exactly?”

Erica shrugged. “It’s what Stiles called them, not going to argue with the only guy that can see them and stop them.”

Isaac’s eyebrows scrunched together. “You didn’t think it was crazy that Stiles was the only one that could see and hear them?”

“We all thought he was damn nuts. Erica and I couldn’t smell anything. No one else sensed it at all. Of course we all got the hell out of Dodge when one of the group was dragged away kicking and screaming. Stiles used his magic to shield us for a little but we could hear them trying to break through. We all ran like hell for days on end before Erica and I got separated from the others.”

Danny persisted. “There was nothing you could rely on other than what Stiles’ said?”

Finishing his ale, Derek addressed Danny. “Why are you insistent on this? They’ve already said countless times Stiles was the only one that can see them.”

With hesitant glance to everyone at the table, Danny slid the book to the middle. Isaac sniffed and his eyes flashed golden yellow. “Danny, why do you have that kind of book.” It wasn’t a question, it was an accusation.

“It’s one of the oldest known copies of the First Book of Samuel.”

“You didn’t answer me. Why. That. Book.”

Erica cocked her head to the side. “What’s wrong with the book?”

Isaac growled. “That’s not cow leather on the outside of the book. It’s human skin.”

Three hiss of surprise followed by three growls halted as Danny held up his hand. “Knock it off! You think I had this creepy ass book because I wanted to?! It’s CENTURIES old! It’s to help Stiles!”

All four wolves looked properly chastised before Derek cleared his throat to break the awkward silence. “What does this have to do with the book, Danny?”

Dark eyes squinted at the other wolves, who did not return his angry gaze. “It was something Erica mentioned.”

“Me?”

“You said he called them Shades?”

“Pretty sure.”

Danny chewed on his thumbnail a moment. Derek eyed him wearily. “You know something and you don’t want to tell us.”

Danny looked genuinely surprised. “How did you know that?”

“Isaac said that’s what happens when you chew your thumbnail.”

Danny frowned at the offending tell and then at Isaac before he sighed. “I think I may know why Stiles is the only one that can see all these things.”

After a moment of quiet, Erica prompted him. “You gonna tell us or not?”

Pulling the book back to him and opening it, Danny spoke while staring down at the pages. “Answer this one question: who do we personally know that has magic?”

Pensive silence settled as everyone racked their brains for a moment, but it shortly became pretty obvious and Isaac breathed, “Stiles.”

A nod was all Danny gave them as he continued flitting through the creepy book. “ _Only_ Stiles.”

Derek let his head drop. “Because of his magic.”

“Point.”

Erica sipped on her lemonade and sighed. “Kid, you better end up being human making me go dry like this.” Placing a hand on her stomach, she looked over to Danny. “So what are you looking for exactly?”

The handsome man let out a frustrated gasp as he closed the body bound book. “Just wanting to confirm something. Lydia and I have concluded that, after cross referencing a few other sources, that these Shades are essentially unbound spirits that are supposed to either be in Heaven or Hell.”

Everyone blinked but it was Isaac that broke the silence. He grasped at his heart fairly practically clawing his chest to pieces, throwing his head back and let loose a blood curdling howl, the veins in his neck bulging as his eyes flashed golden yellow again. Isaac began to thrash about and it took Boyd and Derek to hold him down as he roared, “STILES!”

Danny was caught between the urge to comfort his mate as well as not getting killed by his mate’s violent thrashing. “What the hell is going on?!”

Derek gritted his teeth as he tried to hold Isaac down in the booth. His phone began to go off on the table. “Erica!”

The she-wolf grabbed the phone and hit the speaker call. “Hello?”

Ethan’s panic filled voice cut the air. “Papa! We need you! Something’s wrong with dad!”

Boyd hissed. “Shit! What do we do?!” The burly Omega struggled to not lose his grip on the raging Isaac as he continued to scream out _Stiles_ over and over again.

Tight lips pressed together before Derek cold-cocked Isaac in the jaw. Instantly, the curly blond wolf slumped forward, Danny immediately grabbing his unconscious mate. Derek turned to the phone in Erica’s hand. “I’m on my way.”

“Hurry, papa!”

 

<~~~~~>

 

“Come on, Aiden! Give it some heat!” His son smirked as he lobbed the ball up high before delivering a wickedly powerful serve. Stiles, well used to playing against wolves since he and the Betas played on the high school team, got a nice southpaw under slice on the return and had Aiden scrambling to the opposite line.

Liam’s gob-smacked face had Ethan laughing as he reached over and gently closed Liam’s dropped jaw. “You didn’t honestly think dad wouldn’t be able to play against us right?” His little brother just turned blown open eyes to him and nodded mutely. “You forget, Li-Li, that dad has been playing against Uncle Scott, Isaac and Jackson since they were in high school and consider that there were times they didn’t have perfect control like dad has trained us to have yet. He has no trouble running with wolves.” The littlest wolf looked over to wear his other older brother lay sprawled eagle, panting on the ground while their dad bounced the racket on his shoulder. A slight nudge from Ethan drew his attention back. “Little trick: dad treats a racket like a sword so if you can read how his arm moves, you can get a good idea what he’s about to do. Uncle Jacks taught me that one.”

Stiles swung his gaze to his sons. “Next!”

Liam clutched at his racket as Ethan gently shoved him to the court. One hour later had Liam on the ground making a sweaty starfish sucking in ragged breaths as Stiles and Ethan both fanned him with their towels. Aiden was carefully squirting bottle into Liam’s mouth. “You did good, Li-Li. Lasted longer than we did first time we played dad.”

Soft footfall and a chuckle had Stiles turning to see his dad walking up to the fence. “I take it my youngest grandson has become the next to fall under the racket of Stiles Stilisnki?”

“Dad, you make me sound like a murderer or something.”

Liam groused from the ground. “Dad, you are a murderer!”

“Liam!”

The Sheriff just laughed. “It’s ok boy. I’ve known about your dad’s vicious streak since he was your age.”

Still fanning his youngest son with his towel, Stiles glared at his father. “I’m making you roast brussel sprouts for that.”

The Sheriff smiled without any repent. “Totally worth it.”

A raised eyebrow followed by a snort was all Stiles had to say for the matter. Ethan let his arms go for a moment, only for a whine from Liam had him fanning his little brother again. “Dzadiku, what are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be on the afternoon shift today?”

“One of the deputies asked to take my shift cause he needs to get his car fixed so I gave it to him. I’m on salary.”

“Does that mean you can take us to that Turkish place for lunch?”

“Works for me if it’s okay with your dad.”

Stiles suddenly was assaulted with three pairs of big puppy eyes. The boys had learned from their Uncle Scott and Isaac that their dad had an extreme weakness to puppy eyes. Draping the towel over his shoulder, Stiles just sighed in defeat. “I swear, I would have bet anything you boys would have hated that place as much as I do. Go ahead.” He was greeted by two hearty cheers and a happy squeak from the ground. “Pack up your things. I’m sure there’s room in the cruiser for all your gear?” Stiles turned to the Sheriff with an eyebrow raised.

His dad just smiled and nodded. “Come on boys! I’m hankering for some [Karnıyarık](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karn%C4%B1yar%C4%B1k).” The boys quickly gather their gear (Ethan and Aiden did, Liam was much more sedate in his chore). “Incidentally, I have a message to pass off to you since you apparently didn’t bring your phone with you today.”

Curiosity piqued, Stiles wiped his face from some sweat before glancing at his dad. “Yes?”

“I’m supposed to say ‘ _Sourpatch, I feel like getting some sushi for lunch. You in?_ ’ as I round up the boys for lunch on our own.”

Stiles bites the inside of his cheek and kept his face as neutral as possible. Derek hated seafood. In all forms. Not that anyone actually knows this. _Sushi_ had become their keyword for naughty fun. “Did Sourwolf say when and where?”

The Sheriff scratched the back of his head as he tried to remember. “He’s got some take out at home waiting for you? Said to make sure to bring home some more soy sauce.” _Get home now and make sure to bring home some lube_. Stiles was going to do so many things to him when he got to the Hale House.

After saying goodbye to his dad and the pups, Stiles jumped into his beat up, old red Jeep and floored it all the way to the Preserve. Leaping out of the quiet car, Stiles ripped his shirt off as he barged into the Hale House and was working on his tennis shoes. “Alright Sourwolf! Let’s get nekkid and have some fun while the pups are out of the house!”

Three throats clearing from the foyer had Stiles looking up to see Isaac and Scott red faced and looking at the ceiling. From beyond the two Betas, Stiles could hear a weary voice from the den. “Sourpatch, guess who stopped by to see if we wanted some lunch.”

Stiles whipped his head around to see Scott’s car and Isaac’s motorcycle parked off to the side where he had apparently passed them without noticing. Stiles slowly turned his head to his sworn brothers as they desperately tried to be as non-chalant as possible. Isaac fiddled with his leather jacket zipper as Scott played with his stupid scarf’s tassel. Slowly undoing his tennis shoes and then standing up to toe them off, Stiles painstakingly put his shirt back on. “How embarrassed are you guys right now? I’m decent again, by the way”

Isaac let out a breath. “Bout Hannah-level?”

Scott snorted. “Dude, this has to be about as bad as the Jungle drag show.”

Derek’s curiosity laced voice filtered over their heads. “Drag show?”

“WOAH! Scott!”

“Sorry bro.”

“You know what, I’m giving you guys a solid minute to get away from the house before I start making my way into the den and having wanton pleasures with my hunk of a wolf in there.”

Derek’s growl could be heard from behind Isaac and Scott, who both paled and made a mad dash out the door. Stiles walked into the den. Derek was lounging sideways in the arm chair, completely shirtless and barefoot. A drink, which Stiles guessed to be bourbon, hung in his hand as he smiled at Stiles under hooded eyes. Stiles was about to pounce when two roars shattered the romantic moment. Derek dropped his glass and both he and Stiles ran outside.

What greeted them was something out of Lovercraft's twisted mind. Scott was pulling at Isaac as the curly blond wolf desperately tried to cling to Scott’s hands. Half of Issac’s body had sunk in pool of black viscous ink and black tendrils writhered and latched onto the wolf.

“HELP ME! IT'S TOO STRONG!” Isaac cried.

Derek leapt up and grabbed one of Isaac’s arms. Scott switched his grip so both he and Derek each held an arm. Derek pulled as hard as he could. “Shit! You’re not budging!”

Scott turned golden yellow eyes to Stiles. “Stiles! Pop him out of the ground!”

Stiles focused and his eyes lit white as he chopped down and then up. The earth surrounding the black pool did nothing. “Fuck!” Stiles ran into the den to grab his sword from the mantle.

He came back a few seconds later to see Isaac had sunk in up to his chest. Tears of panic fell from his eyes. “STILES! SAVE ME!”

Feeling the adrenaline racing through him, Stiles pointed his sword at the trees. Branches began to reach down and wrap around Isaac’s shoulders and chest. Derek and Scott both desperately tried to dig in their heels and pull but the darkness kept pulling Isaac down. As the tree branches came in contact with their black pool, they shriveled up and disintegrated. Scott and Derek both felt a small surge of a pull from the pool that had Isaac suddenly neck deep. By now, Isaac was sobbing. “Let me go…just let me go. Don’t get sucked in with me. Please just let me go.”

“LIKE HELL WE ARE!” Scott screamed.

Little black tendrils began to wrap around Isaac’s face head. Red rimmed, blue eyes turned to Stiles, who kept trying to manipulate the earth to release Isaac. “Tell dad I love him.”

“NO!” Stiles bellowed as Isaac’s head disappeared into the darkness followed by his arms, both being wrenched out of Derek’s and Scott’s grip. No sooner had the deed been done, the black pool imploded into nothing. “NOOOO!!!!!” Stiles threw his sword to the side and blindly clawed at the dirt, digging his way down. “ISAAC! ISAAC! ISAAAAACCC!!!!”

 

<~~~~~>

 

A black Camaro screeched to a halt just outside of Eichen House before Derek jumped out of the car. He could hear Boyd and Danny’s car pull up by the time he rushed into the main building. Footfall and a cry caught his attention. “PAPA!”

Ethan grabbed onto his hand. “Come on!”

Derek and Ethan ran down the hall, skillfully dodging patients and staff alike. They made it to room 313 in time to hear, “Grab his legs! I’ve got the straps ready!”

Scott, Jackson and an orderly wrestle with a thrashing Stiles on the bed. Stiles’ arms were strapped to the sides of his bed as Scott and Jackson desperately tried to carefully hold him in place as the Orderly quickly get the leather cuffs attached to the bed. Triumphant, Scott and Jackson back away, huffing and breathing hard. Liam and Aiden, who had been hugging the corner so as to not get in the way, went over to steady their uncles. The orderly, Brunski, heaves as well, before reaching into his shirt pocket. “Sir, can you hold him down so I can administer the sedative?”

Derek wordlessly walked over to Stiles. Pale eyes stared up as he frothed at the mouth, choking out the words “ ** _Zorge. Noromi.”_** Derek held his Stiles’ shoulders and pinned him to the bed as the orderly carefully injected the needle in Stiles’ neck. A breath later, Stiles lolled his head to the side just as the others came running into the room. Isaac had fangs and claws at the ready, eyes glowing golden. “What happened to Stiles?! Where is he?!”

Derek looked over his shoulder as Ethan came over and knelt down next to his papa. “It’s ok, he’s right here.”

“Where?!” Isaac growled.

Jackson’s eyebrows scrunched together. “Isaac, he’s right in front of you strapped to the bed.”

Isaac viciously turned to Jackson. “Don’t lie to me! Where’s Stiles!”

Danny’s eyebrows flew to his head. “Isaac, can’t you sense Stiles through your packbond?”

“No! Who killed Stiles?! Where’s his body! He’s my brother, I’m taking him home to dad!” Isaac began to shift as Jackson and Boyd tackled Isaac to the ground. Isaac roared but Derek roared back, his eyes burning crimson red.  That effectively cowed Isaac back to his human form but he still struggled.

Scott approached the bed and the listless form of Stiles. “Derek, you need to look at this.” Scott gently lifted Stiles into a sitting position, Stiles’ head rest on Scott’s shoulder, and lifted the back of Stiles’ shirt up. Derek’s eyes widened to see one third of the brand on Stiles’ back had transformed from an angry welt to a black lined tattoo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many readers have expressed concern and confusion over the last chapter. It's all intentional, so I ask you this: how much attention did you pay to the last chapter I wonder?


	8. Forgotten and Missing

The storm outside set a tempo of _adagio_ drizzling to _molto_ deluging through out the late morning. The wind came through in a direction where the back of the Hale House was pummeled but the front had no smattering of water. Gone was the smell of the forest and earth, being suppressed by the fresh rain and the strong wind. Derek watched with a weary gaze from the deck swing as the dark clouds passed over. He had eventually taken his borderline feral, hysterical sons home later in the pre-dawn morning after Dr. Fenris had shaken his head at not being able to do much else for Stiles after his apparent seizure. Currently, his pups slept together in a bundle of blankets in his room, seeking reassurance and security from being with their brothers in the comforting scent of his and Stiles’ bed, as opposed to their own rooms.

Running a large hand over his tired face, Derek mentally noted he would need to trim his beard later. It had been a taxing time since the disastrous training session and a week since Stiles was placed into the care of Dr. Fenris at Eichen House. Up until last night, his continuous and mysterious mantra had remained unchanged and his pale eyes never looked anywhere except straight ahead. No matter how much Derek, Ethan, Aiden or Liam tried, there was no recognition or response from their loved one. The pups especially found this incredibly hard. The bond they had with Stiles was monumentally stronger than anyone’s, especially for the littlest wolf. Liam’s heartbroken expression had Derek almost buckling to his knees when the little wolf kissed his dad on the forehead without any reaction. Derek steadied his elbows on his knees as he hid his face into his palms, letting his tears trace along his fingers.

The tattoo of the falling rain and his unfocused misery masked the arrival of the Sheriff, which he only noticed once a hand rested on his shoulder. The Sheriff’s weathered face had a sad smile as he clutched at Derek’s shoulder. “Y’all right there, Mr. Alpha?”

Rubbing his red-rimmed eyes, Derek huffed. “I’ll be alright once Stiles is home and back to normal.”

The Sheriff chuckled as he carefully sat down on the swing as well. “My son has never been this ‘normal’ that you speak of.”

Derek rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

The Sheriff turned a crooked smile to Derek. “I do, just trying to take your mind off things.”

The two men sat in silence for a minute, listening to the beat of the storm before Derek broke the silence. “How can you be so calm about all this? The boys and I are literally at wits end. Our wolves are pacing around, wondering where Stiles is. It’s driving us crazy!”

The Sheriff had a pensive moment. “Well, I suppose it’s harder for you four given this is your first round dealing with this sort of thing, I guess.”

Derek frowned. “What sort of thing?”

“The boys have always been with Stiles ever since he adopted them as his own at very young ages. You only met Stiles four years after you came to Beacon Hills. Crazy injuries and hospital stays aside, you four have never really been separated from Stiles. The rest of us? We had five years of not knowing where Stiles was, what happened to him, and presuming he was dead.”

Derek let the bitterness seep into his words. “How is this any different to Stiles being dead?”

The Sheriff turned his gaze towards the rain, but was looking further into the past. His voice was harsh as he whispered, “That was a living hell. The unknown and unresolved was torture for us all. Legally, I could have declared Stiles dead long ago, but we all had this insane hope he’d come back. You know who was the most adamant on never giving up? Jackson, Isaac and Scott. They were basically brothers to Stiles after the Alpha attack with how much time they all spent together. Its hard to argue on who was closer to Stiles: Scott who had known Stiles since they were toddlers, Jackson whose life was saved by Stiles, or Isaac who was literally Stiles’ foster brother for years.” Derek nodded but said nothing so the Sheriff continued, strength in his voice. “Five years they never had any clues until that night he came back and they never lost faith in finding him. We’ll take what’s happening now over five years of knowing nothing, assuming he was dead. We’ll figure out what’s wrong with him no matter how long it takes.”

Red-rimmed hazel eyes locked with weary, but bright blue eyes. Peace settled within Derek. Not contentment or joy, but his wolf within wasn’t nearly so agitated. Focus and caution arose within Derek. He had to keep that in mind: figuring out what happened to Stiles and what the hell is going on is what takes precedence.

Gentle footfall brought the attention of both men to the other end of the porch as Liam walked over to them, bleary eyed and disheveled hair framing a pout. Liam trudged over to Derek and unceremoniously plopped into his lap. After getting himself comfortable and Derek wrapping his arms around him, Liam gave Derek a rather petulant look. “Papa, you weren’t in bed when I woke up.”

“Sorry pup-“

“Papa…”

Derek smiled. “-still not sorry-but I couldn’t sleep and didn’t want to wake you up on accident. All three of you needed your rest.”

Liam tucked his chin to his chest as he huffed before letting his blue eyes catch his grandfather’s blue eyes. “Did papa invite you for breakfast?”

The older man smiled as he attempted to smooth Liam’s crazy hair. “No, I came for something else.”

Derek looked turned his eyes to the Sheriff. “Why _did_ you come over? Especially in this weather?”

Rubbing his eyes, the Sheriff said, “I need to talk to you about Isaac.”

Liam perked up. “What about Uncle Isaac?”

Derek’s heart clenched. Liam and Isaac shared a special bond. The little wolf gravitated towards the tall, but seemingly vulnerable Beta ever since the pups had arrived in Beacon Hills. In the years that have pasted after Stiles was able to settle down, Liam and Isaac had a special bond all the pack could feel. A sense of foreboding settled over Derek.

The Sheriff sagged where he was sitting. “I think it best if you just came with me and see for yourself.”

The drive to the Stilinski Household was quiet as the storm had finally passed. Derek made note of how still the pups were as the Camaro. All three seemed to be drawing into themselves and that was worrying their papa, but he wasn’t really sure what to do. Pulling up to the house and parking in the street, all the four wolves in the black Camaro were suddenly on alert. Something felt off inside the seemingly quiet house.

Derek and the pups got out of the car as the Sheriff got out of the cruiser near the garage. All five got to the front door, only to have the door open on them by Jackson. Relief washed over his face. “Thank the moon, you’re back. I don’t know what else I can do.”

The Sheriff frowned. “Nothing has changed, right?”

Jackson shook his head. “No, but that doesn’t make it any less fucked up for me. My wolf is going bonkers!” Three pups and one Alpha all frowned. “It is seriously weird when you do that.”

Three pups and one Alpha all looked confused. “Do what?”

“Stop that!” Jackson squirmed.

“Anyways!” The Sheriff interrupted. “Derek, come with me please.”

“You three stay here.” Derek instructed his sons.

“But-”

“No.”

“Papa…”

“I’ll let you come if I think its ok.”

Three sighs were his answer. Jackson cleared his throat, drawing his nephews’ attention. “Why don’t we go out back and I can work with you boys on your lacrosse? Liam’s got his first summer session coming up right?”

Liam huffed. “Yeah, dad already got me a new stick and gear, but I don’t want to go anymore…”

Ethan and Aiden both placed a hand on the little wolf’s shoulders. “Li-Li, you’ve been begging to get into the game like us. Dad would be happy you learned to play.”

Liam twisted his head looking to his older brothers on each side before he pouted. “Fine.”

With a sad smile, Jackson corralled Liam. “Playing in the mud will be fun. Promise.”

As Jackson and the pups went out into the backyard, the Sheriff guided Derek upstairs. “In a way, its been nice having Isaac back in the house again. Love that kid as much as Stiles. However, this is not how I would have wanted it.”

Cocking an eyebrow, Derek followed the Sheriff to Stiles’ old room and entered after the Sheriff opened the door. Sitting in the middle of Stiles’ old bed sat Isaac. He was dressed only in a white tee shirt and comfortable looking pajama pants. Bowing his head, Isaac brought the red hoodie in his hands to his face and took a deep breath while letting out a whimper. Derek could see his eyes were a pale, almost milky blue when Isaac brought the hoodie away from his face. “Isaac?”

The curly blonde Beta turned in his general direction, but was still listless. “Hello.”

“Isaac, what are you doing?”

Tilting his head to the side, Isaac was almost a bit whimsy. “I miss Stiles.”

Derek turned to the Sheriff who just shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. He turned his attention back to the Beta. “Do you want to go visit Stiles?”

The clouded blue eyes now seemed to stare through Derek. “Won’t do any good. He’s gone.”

The wolf within Derek growled, but Derek kept it in. “Isaac, Stiles isn’t gone. He’s still alive and being looked after.”

Isaac tilted his head to the other side and blankly remarked, “Stiles is gone. Gone. Gone.”

Concern was filling Derek at Isaac’s strange behavior. He reached out through the packbond and felt something…wrong. Isaac felt like he was dealing with some sort of…amputation? This feeling had Derek pressing his lips together and staring hard at the Beta.

The feeling was short lived. What sounded like cross between a drain unclogging and an explosion preceded four ferocious roars from the backyard. Derek’s eyes lit up crimson red as he turned on his heel and bounded through the house into the backyard. Jackson and the pups were all facing off against a black monstrosity standing next to a huge muddy hole. It stood at least twelve feet tall, long arms and standing on thick legs with knees bent the other way with a demonic face and dripping maw. Something that made Derek’s heart clench was the pale eyes it glared at them with. The same pale eyes as Stiles. The creature took one look at the Alpha and opened its mouth and let out a massive roar. At least that’s what Derek assumed. It was completely silent and there was no scent to it. Before Derek could process anything further, the creature raised a massive arm. “FAN OUT!”

Jackson and the pups darted away as the massive fist landed with a wet smack into the muddy earth. The Sheriff came out with a shotgun in tow. “What the hell is that?!”

“Don’t know! Kill it first, questions later!” Derek roared as he jumped at the creature as it tried to swing at Ethan and Liam to it’s right. Landing on top of its long neck, Derek tried to rake out it’s eyes. This didn’t seem to cause the creature any pain and may have only inconvenienced it as it began to wildly swing at anything and everything it could. Derek sank his claws into the beast’s head as he went along for the ride. The pups and Jackson darted in and around the creature, lashing out trying to take the monstrous thing down, to little avail.

“This isn’t doing anything!” Liam screeched as he dove to the side as the beast swung at him.

A shotgun cocking and the Sheriff’s shout to get clear had Derek jumping off the beast as well as Jackson and the twins diving away as the Sheriff unloaded a few shells of buckshot into the creatures face. The monstrous black thing stopped and began to teeter as the Sheriff took one last shot and blasted the creature in the middle of the chest, blasting it backwards back into the muddy hole it had crawled out of. The Sheriff looked around the muddy, devastated yard. All the wolves were encrusted with mud. He counted off five standing wolves as he rested the shotgun on his shoulder. “Should I get the hose?”

Derek stood but didn’t respond to the Sheriff. He glanced around before he looked at the Sheriff. “Call the rest of the pack here. Emergency Pack Meeting. Now. I’ll get the hose.”

Liam noticed the stiff way his papa spoke and suddenly realized something was wrong with the backyard scene. “Where’s Uncle Isaac?”

Uneasy silence settled into everyone in the backyard as they glanced up to Stiles' bedroom window. 

Aiden huffed. "Playing in the mud sucks, Uncle Jacks."

 

<~~~~~>

 

Stiles sat on the couch in the den, glassy eyed as he watched the clouds roll overhead through the window. After everything that happened, Stiles decided to just head to bed. Upon waking up in the morning and still feeling utterly miserable, Stiles staked out the den. He knew Derek and his dad were visiting together, discussing who knows what, on the porch. Stiles rubbed his eyes in weary agony.

**You know, you probably could have saved Isaac.**

Stiles chuckled mirthlessly palming his face into his hands. “Like I haven’t been telling myself that all night as it is.”

**Things should not have gotten so far out of your control.**

“What control? My magic doesn’t work on the living or apparently on invisible monsters only I can see.”

**Weak. That’s what you are. A liability to the pack.**

Stiles whipped his head up. “Who the hell are you to say-”

His eyes widened. Stiles was alone in the den. Heart beating just a little bit faster, Stiles called out. “Derek?!”

Derek’s voice carries through the window from outside on the porch. “Yes?!”

“There’s no one visiting the house, right?!”

“Unless Ethan and Aiden invited someone without us knowing again.”

Stiles turned his head towards the ceiling. “Boys!”

“We didn’t do it!” Two voices called through the house.

“That’s not the question and I know you were listening!”

Liam singsong to his dad. “There’s no one up here except us three little wolves!”

Stiles frowned. “Derek?!”

“Only three heartbeats upstairs.” A quarter rest of silence. “Something wrong, Stiles?” A half beat of silence. “Your dad asked if you’ve been watching Doctor Who again.”

“Fine! Just fine! Nothing wrong here! And no dad, I’m not thinking there is a Silence in the house.”

A full beat of quiet before Derek responded this time. “Your dad said, “ _If there was a Silence in the house and you looked away, how would you know it’s in the house?_ What is a Silence, anyways?”

“Never mind!” Stiles briefly checked his arms for any sharpie marks before he slumped into the couch and ran a tired hand over his face not noticing the smiling face in the dark corner. A noise brought his attention to the door of the den, where Derek filled the frame. If it was any other time, Stiles would be appreciating the way the green Henley hugged Derek’s torso while almost cupping his pecs and tightened around the shoulders. Any other time, Stiles would be dismissing the worried look on Derek’s face. This time, Stiles was too weary to fight off Derek’s concerns, although he put up a front for the sake of being stubborn. “Sourwolf, I said I’m fine.”

That earned a frowning scowl from his big Alpha as he strode into the den and gently sat down next to his mate. Cupping both hands to Stiles’ face, Derek drew them together in a warm, chaste kiss. “Hey, what’s wrong? You don’t have to hide anything from me. You know that right?”

Stiles sighed and nuzzled Derek’s large hand with his cheek, closing his eyes to savor the hot, rough hands of his lover. Big, whisky doe eyes looked up to the sharp, hazel eyes. “I’m-I’m not a weak link in the pack, right?”

Derek’s eyebrows practically jumped to his hairline. “What? Where would you get an idea like that?”

Stiles sighed again and lay his head into Derek’s left hand, letting the wolf cradle his head. “It’s just that-well, these past few weeks have not been that great for us right? At least in regards to me and my magic?”

Derek’s eyebrows now crunched together in confusion. “Are you talking about the last time we had training and things basically blew up on us?”

“Yeah…”

“Stiles, it was an accident. You can’t really blame yourself for that. It’s not like you could have known that would happen.”

It was Stiles’ turn to scowl. “If I had more control, things could have gone been dealt with once and for all.”

“You’re talking like we can’t train anymore. Things will get back to normal in due course.”

Stiles mulled over this and let out a slow breath. “Fine, I suppose you’re right.”

Derek snorted and leaned in to nuzzle Stiles’ with his cheek. The smooth, warm skin on Stiles’ face almost had him melting to goo, but his love haze filled head latched on to one more thing. “But what about Isaac? My magic still hasn’t found him and we still don’t know what happened to him.”

The Alpha tensed and pulled back to look Stiles in the eyes. Concern was written all over his face. “Stiles, who’s Isaac?”


	9. The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts. ~ Marcus Aurelius

Derek sighed and shoved the book away as he rubbed his tired eyes. “My eyeballs are going to shrivel up and fall out of my head if I have to read anymore right now.” Erica, Danny, Lydia and Allison look up from their own books, all of whom had the tell tale signs of eyestrain and exhaustion setting in. Derek stood up and bent backwards, feeling and hearing his spine pop in certain places before straightening up and rubbing his nose. “By the moon, my nose is still traumatized by some of these “human skin” books we have to keep digging through.”

Lydia arched an eyebrow. “Did you want me to get a Glade candle?”

Face scrunching in disgust, Derek shook his head. “I can’t decide if that’s worse.”

Erica grunted as well as she twisted in her seat and a multitude of pops and cracks echoed in the library. “Worse. At least with these dead people books, it’s just gross and weird. The candles are just overwhelming hodge podge of crap.”

Danny leaned back in his chair. “No one has found anything else?”

Silence greeted him before Derek addressed him. “It’s like the breadcrumbs you and Lydia found are all we have to go on. Nothing goes farther back to explain anything.”

Allison leaned back in her chair as well but steepled her fingers together. “So what do we do? Should we try digging else where?”

Derek grumped. “I think we need to consult with someone else. We’re grasping at straws at this point and getting no where.”

Allison tilted her head “What are you thinking?”

“I think we should see if your parents know anyone we can consult. I know you have access to the Hunter Archives, but your parents _know_ people from all their previous hunts. There’s got to be some one out there that can help us figure out what the hell we killed in the Sheriff's backyard because that thing was not just some spirit thing stuck on Earth. That thing was some monstrosity!”

Erica hummed in agreement. “The Shades we dealt with in Canada weren’t like this thing. It felt...bigger? Sluggish? The ones in Canada felt fast and deadly.”

Lydia turned to Allison. “You’re folks called it in right? Hunters came to take it away and examine it?”

“Yes, but knowing the normal red tape we deal with for documented stuff, this unknown is gonna be lock and key for a while.”

“But we’re dealing with it now! They have to tell us what they find out!”

Allison shrugged. “I’m lucky they have me registered as just a field agent. Mom has to deal with so much crap from DC as the head Huntress out here. I swear she uses her whetstone a bit too much on her letter opener.”

Derek waved the comment away. “We’re getting sidetracked. Can we touch base with your folks and see if they might know someone with a bit more magic than Greenburg and a deck of cards?”

“On it.” Allison got up and walked away as she tapped her phone.

Erica bit her lip and looked around to everyone else before she meeked out, “Derek?”

“Yes?”

“I don’t want to be self centered or anything, but I wanted to ask something not related to Stiles.”

Lydia scowled but Derek held up his hand. “What’s up, Erica?”

The blonde Omega fidgeted a little in her seat before she turned her big brown eyes to the Alpha with a hitch in her voice as she placed a hand on her stomach. “Tonight’s the New Moon so its two weeks until the Full Moon. Will-will, you still be doing the Full Moon Rites for me and Boyd? You’ll still let us join the pack right?”

Derek softly smiled at her as Lydia lost her scowl. “I want this to be done right with Stiles right there with me as we are the Alpha Pair. We both have informally accepted you as pack as is so the Full Moon Rites are just a formality at this point.”

Danny grinned. “Sort of like your wedding?”

Derek actually groaned while both ladies in attendance looked positively giddy. “We still have months to plan for that. Let’s tackle one thing at a time, please?”

“Like Stiles would let you plan anything alone for the wedding.”

And just like that, the slightly cheery mood was shot down like a clay pigeon. Allison noticed the doom and gloom as she walked in. “Did something happen while I was gone? It was only five minutes.”

Lydia shook her head as she hugged herself. “No, just talking about the moon phases and…and…”

All eyes turned to the strawberry blond as her mouth worked wordlessly while her eyes widened progressively. Danny leaned forward. “Lydia?”

“The moon phases…”

“What about them?”

Lydia rounded on Danny unexpectedly, causing him to flinch. “The triquetra! Oh my god! Why didn’t I think of that! Or maybe I should say goddess!”

Danny had a confused stare on his face. “What?!”

Lydia stood up and grabbed Danny’s shirt. “COME HERE!”

Danny squawked as he was dragged out of the chair, his eyes pleading for help to Allison, Derek, and Erica, all of who shook their heads in fear of the diminutive woman. Danny’s pouting and confused face was lost as he and Lydia disappeared down the aisles of books. Derek shook his head. “Any word from your folks Allison?”

The Huntress double blinked before she recovered. “Actually yes. We’ve got two in town actually that can be of help.” Derek raised an eyebrow. “I know, I was surprised too, but not as surprised as you’re going to be when I tell you who.”

Derek rolled his eyes. “Just get on with it.”

“Alan Deaton and Marin Morrel.”

Eye wide and jaw dropped. “The town vet and your old high school counselor?!”

Erica squeaked. “Say what?!”

Further remarks were cut off as the clicking of Lydia’s shoes preceded her triumphant arrival with Danny following in her wake his arms laden with books. Derek, Erica and Allison groaned in unison as Lydia threw them all a sharp look. “None of that! We got some more research to do!”

“But Lydia, we’ve got a lead with-”

Lydia shushed the Huntress as Danny carefully maneuvered the tower of books onto the table with a groan. “Ally, I love you, but what we need to find first comes from these books, not your parent’s LinkedIn connections.”

Derek cupped his hands to his face. “My eyes…”

<~~~~~~>

The evening came with little fanfare after the exhausting day. Derek contemplated on whether to just order in a junky dinner for him and the pups or brave the kitchen and attempt to cook in his agitated state. His musing was cut short as Ethan and Aiden both walked into the den where Derek sat in his favorite chair. “Hey pups, where’s your brother?”

Aiden unceremoniously plopped “Li-Li drew the short straw for showers tonight. He’ll be down in a few minutes.”

Nodding in silent understanding, Derek pulled out his phone and brought up some restaurants on his phone. “Do you think we should order in junk or do you think I should try to cook?”

Stereo snorting answered his silly question. “Papa, we love you, but whenever something is wrong with dad, you’re completely hopeless in the kitchen.”

The big, strong Alpha pouted at his sons. “I am not completely hopeless in the kitchen without dad around.”

Aiden gave him a deadpan glare. “You confused marshmallows for tofu last year when dad was sick and ruined dad’s favorite wok trying to make stir fry.”

“Ok, but that was one-”

“You burnt Jello.” Ethan added.

“It clearly said to boil on the box!”

Light footsteps could be heard as Liam came into the den, rubbing his hair with the towel so his voice was muffled. “String cheese.”

Whatever words were on Derek’s lips fell as he pursed his lips. All three of his sons grinned. Derek scowled. “Fine, I take it you guys want to order in?” When it was quiet for more than a beat, Derek looked up to see his sons’ faces utterly forlorn. “Boys?”

Aiden shuffled his feet. “We were wondering if-”

Ethan jumped in. “-you would take us out to eat-”

Liam finished the thought. “-and maybe we can see dad after?”

A lance of pain pierced Derek’s heart. Seeing Stiles had become heart wrenching and something he tried to avoid if he could. Liam read the creases and the look in his papa’s eyes. “We know it’s not easy, but…but we want to see him.”

Ethan nodded gravely. “Dad-dad’s always been there for us. Not having him around…it’s-it’s-”

“-been fucking awful!” Aiden growled. “I don’t know about Li-Li, but me and Ethan? We remember what kind of shitty life we had before dad came into the picture. Even when we were being beaten or on the run, just having dad around? Fuck, I could deal with anything that came at us!”

Ethan’s eyes cool blue eyes glowed with ferocity. “Long as dad was around, I knew we always had someone behind us. Supporting us…”

Liam’s harsh whisper came through his teeth. “Loving us…”

Derek sighed as he cupped his face, bending over and resting his elbows on his knees. His fingers tips rubbed his eyes before pulling his fingers down to rest on his cheeks and shielding his mouth. “You really want to see dad tonight?”

All three little wolves brightened. “YES!”

Derek held his breath a moment as his wolf within got a little twitchy at the prospect of seeing Stiles. It was wonderful and horrible all at once. Letting out the breath slowly, Derek resolved himself. His sons’ needed this and he was going to provide. “Alright, but dinner first. I’m not putting that off as you might lose your appetites later after seeing Stiles.”

Derek ended up being smothered by his pups, his chair tipping backwards from all three jumping on his lap.The scuff marks on the floor would be worth the cuddles he was getting.

Forty minutes later found the small family sitting in their favorite diner with Doug watching as the pups quickly demolished their dinners. “Damn Derek, aren’t you feeding them?”

Said Alpha was eating at a much more calm pace. “They want to go see Stiles tonight.”

Doug nodded slowly. “I heard through the grapevine. He doing alright?”

Derek swallowed the last bite of his burger before moving on to his fruit salad as his sons eyed him with fervor, urging him to eat faster with their glares. “I hope so. His dad is with him right now and I haven’t heard anything since I last called. I assume there’s been no change.”

A thoughtful moment passed before Doug began clearing the licked clean plates of the pups. “Think we could rouse him with an order of curly fries?”

Derek had to painfully swallow the knot in his throat with the food in his mouth. “Doubt it…”

The rest of the stay at the diner was somber and quiet as Derek and the pups feel silent. Not even Millie’s complaining and Doug’s reprimand schtick could lighten the mood. After paying for the meal, Derek loaded the pups into the silver Camaro and drove off into the night. As the tree line began to thin out as they made it further into town, Derek addressed his sons. “Please, please try to keep calm while were there alright?”

Three low grumbles answered. “Papa…we know.”

“You know up here.” Derek tapped his temple and then his chest. “Make sure you know here too.”

Pulling up to their destination, Derek heard his pups’ heartbeats begin to pick up in tempo. They could probably hear his heart stuttering as well from his nerves being tweaked. All four wolves were so intensely focused on seeing Stiles, they all startled at the sound of knocking at the window. “Guys?”

The little family zeroed in on Scott who held up his hands. “Easy. I’m just here to check on Stiles. His dad asked if I could come see him tonight.”

Derek sighed. “So no change then?”

Scott sadly shook his head. “None. Still just repeating himself over and over again and not making any sense. Come on, we can go together.”

Scott led the way inside and up to Stiles’ room once Derek and the pups got out of the silver Camaro. The room was a sad state affairs and the pups all whined in misery at the state their dad was in, old clothes and pictures thrown about. Tears threatened to fall as they watched Stiles flip through another photo album with a manic obsession, glass eyed as he kept whispering under his breath. “Isaac’s real… Isaac’s real… Isaac’s real… Isaac’s real…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry folks! I've been playing catch up with a lot of work this week because of a business trip I had. I promise to be more timely with posts especially with things coming up!


	10. Painful Answers

Ethan lobbed the ball high as Liam jumped and tried to catch the ball in his stick. Sadly, he had mistimed his jump the ball hadn’t even come close enough to land in the netting. With a grunt, Liam landed and attempted another quick leap backwards, stretching and ultimately failing to catch the ball. Bending backwards just in time to see Aiden effortlessly catch the ball in his stick, Liam followed through and did a backflip to land on his feet. The little wolf scowled as Aiden grinned. “Almost Li-Li, you’re still a bit anxious on the jump, but your timing is getting better.”

The eleven-year-old wolf gruffed at his older brothers. “How am I not getting this as fast as you guys? I should be doing this as easy as you guys did when you were my age…”

A clap on his shoulder had Liam looking behind him to Ethan. “We’re all different, Li-Li. Even as wolves, we all have special traits to us. Like how you and Uncle Isaac have better senses of smell compared to everyone or how Uncle Jacks can hear just about anything anywhere or Uncle Scott is stronger than anyone other than papa and that’s because papa is an Alpha.”

Aiden spoke, drawing Liam’s attention. “Ethan and me? I think we have better reflexes than most so we can wait till the last minute for things. Don’t worry so much about it and just keep doing what you’re doing. We’ve got plenty of time to kill as is.”

A chuckle from the stands had all three wolves looking to the Sheriff as he relaxed sitting in the Beacon Hills High School golf cart. “You certainly are picking it up faster than your dad did and he was the twins’ age when he started.”

Liam snorted. “Dzadiku, dad’s human. Of course I’d pick it up faster than him.”  

The Sheriff’s eyes held a merry glint. “Why don’t you tell that to your Uncle Jacks then?”

Ethan and Aiden both snickered. Jackson was undoubtedly the best at lacrosse in their little family. Even before he had been a wolf, Stiles had told his sons that Jackson was fast, strong and incredibly agile. Liam for his part puckered his face in annoyance.

A little jingle stopped further conversation. “Hello? Hey Derek.” All the pups zeroed in on the call with their little wolfy ears.

“Are the pups doing ok?”

“PAPA!”

Derek’s chuckle could be heard from the Sheriff’s phone. “Still not sorry. Serves your right for eavesdropping on your grandpa’s phone.”

The Sheriff chuckled. “I’ve got three identical scowls being sent at me which I’m guessing are for you.”

“No doubt.” Derek sighed loudly. “We’re about to go meet with Alan and Marin at Eichen House. Call us if anything happens.”

“Got it.”

Ethan shouted across the high school practice field. “Papa! Do you think they can help dad?”

“I hope so son. Your uncles and aunts are started to get tired of researching.”

An indignant squawk was faintly heard in the background of the call. “Oh please! Who was the one complaining about his eyeballs falling out?!”

“Erica.”

Another indignant squawk was heard as well. “Liar!”

The Sheriff rubbed his own eyes. “Keep us updated, Derek.”

“Yes sir.”

As the Sheriff closed his phone, the three little wolves turned into the direction of the Eichen House and silently prayed for answers.

<~~~~~~>

Three smiling faces. Stiles stared at the old picture of Jackson, Scott and him in Beacon Hills Lacrosse. Jackson’s bright blue eyes, Scott’s crooked smile and his silly buzz cut were all there, but there SHOULD have been a curly blonde, blue eyed smile looming directly above his head.

**There’s only three of you. Why do you insist there was someone else?**

Stiles covered his ears in a vain attempt to not listen. “Isaac is supposed to be there! I know he was there!”

**Isaac? Are you really sure there was someone called that?**

“Fuck yes there is!”

**You are just imagining things. You’ve only had Jackson and Scott.**

Stiles bellowed in anger. “Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!”

Grabbing the framed picture from his lap, Stiles hurtled it into the wall. The resulting shattering of glass had his dad come flying into his old bedroom. “Stiles?!”

The Sheriff found his son red faced from yelling, hands clamped over his ears. He leapt onto the bed and grabbed Stiles into a fierce hug. Stiles struggled to get away, crying and twisting. “Lemme go! Lemme go! I have to find Isaac!”

Trying to keep himself calm and soothe his son, the Sheriff’s whispered into Stiles’ ear. “Calm down. Breath with me. You’ll give yourself a panic attack. In two three, out two three, in two three, out two three. Calm down, Stiles.”

Stiles stopped trying to escape his dad’s embrace and instead just collapsed against the strong, familiar arms. He cried. He cried for Isaac. Isaac, the curly blonde friend that became his brother after becoming a wolf. The wolf everyone refuses to acknowledge to have existed before he was taken. Taken by a darkness. A darkness Stiles had failed to save him from.

“That’s good son. Keep breathing. Bring it in. Come here.” The Sheriff gathered Stiles in his arms and turned him into his shoulder.

Stiles wrapped his arms around his dad’s chest. “I’m sorry…”

“It’s ok, Stiles.”

“I couldn’t save Isaac…”

Stiles felt his dad’s arms tighten around him. “Don’t worry Stiles.”

Feeling groggy and exhausted, Stiles could feel his mind becoming foggy from his emotional outburst. He was being man handled and maneuvered. Stiles felt his dad gently laid him on his pillow. Bleary eyed, he looked up at the Sheriff’s lined face. “Thanks dad.”

The Sheriff smiled. “Get some rest son.”

Stiles let his consciousness go and for a brief moment, he probably was asleep and at peace. Jerking away, Stiles rubbed his face and looked around. HE couldn’t tell how long he had been out, considering he didn’t know when his dad put him to bed. Stiles got up and quietly padded downstairs. It was evening and Stiles could see his dad sitting at the kitchen table with the phone at his ear.

“I know, I know, but what can I do? It’s not exactly safe to leave him alone obviously.” Stiles gently sat on the stairs, concern etched in his face as he listened to his dad. “Yes, he’s still insisting about someone missing called Isaac.” A cold hand wrapped around Stiles’ heart. “I don’t know. I’ve never heard of anyone named Isaac.”

Adrenaline shooting through his veins, Stiles silently ran up the stairs. He changed out of the comfy shirt and pajama pants into a pair of jeans and a light jacket. Making his way to the window, Stiles glanced over his shoulder to make sure his dad wasn’t around before carefully climbing out the window and scaling down the side of the house.

The evening air held an unusual chill for summer as he ran. Stiles passed house after house, making his way across town. He knew where he could find answers. If there was any place, it would be there.

Eventually, Stiles came to the house. On the outside, it wasn’t all that remarkable, but he knew. Long ago, this house held a secret. A terrible secret where his friend Isaac was constantly abused and beaten. Where Isaac was locked in a freezer, left to feel the suffocating darkness around him, all at the hands of his own disgraceful father who now was serving twenty years in prison.

The house was still in Isaac’s name despite the years he lived with the Stilinskis. The house had been paid off long ago by his grandparents and under guidance of his surrogate mother and foster father, kept the house. It was cleaned every once in a while and inspected once a year. The Lahey house was empty, but not entirely abandoned.

Stiles crept up to the house and peered inside. All the furniture was undisturbed for the most part and the lights were dark so it wasn’t as if he could tell if anything was wrong.

**There would have to be an ‘Isaac’ for something to be wrong.**

Gritting his teeth, Stiles knuckled his fists to his eyes. “Shut up! I’ll find stuff about Isaac here! This is his house.”

**You keep telling yourself there is someone named ‘Isaac’ but you don’t believe that. Not really.**

“Yes I do! Isaac is real!”

**So sure of yourself and yet, that’s still not true. Just give up already.**

Stiles hissed through his teeth and rubbed his knuckles into his temples. “I am not giving up on Isaac so shut the hell up!”

“Hello?” Stiles whorled around, not noticing a car pulling up into the driveway. The man before him was older than him, but not by much. He had a solid build, curly brown hair and a very concerned look on his face. “Can I help you?”

Stammering, Stiles wiped the tears from his eyes. “I’m-I’m sorry. I was-I was looking to get in the house to look for something for my friend. Isaac Lahey.”

The man’s eyebrows shot up. “Isaac Lahey? There’s no one like that that lives here.”

Stiles shook his head. “Yeah, no, Isaac hasn’t lived here for a few years. I was going to-to look in some of the storage down in the basement.”

The man looked concern. “Sir, no one by the name Isaac has ever lived here. I should know since I grew up in this house. My name is Cameron Lahey and I have no relations by the name Isaac.”

Blood drained from Stiles face and he felt light headed. His pallor and countenance must have scared Cameron as he suddenly leapt to Stiles although Stiles didn’t really notice as his vision went white.

**There is no Isaac Lahey.**

<~~~~~>

Derek closed his phone as the rest of the pack settled into the conference room. Dr. Fenris had been generous in allowing the pack to use the room at Eichen House. Only his sons and Isaac were the only wolves not in attendance, deeming Isaac not in his full capabilities to understand what was going on and he didn’t want to freak out his boys with what they would have to discuss. Allison was currently sitting in Stiles’room watching over him, whereas Danny and Lydia sat on either side of the Alpha with the rest of the wolves lining the large table. Across from Derek sat Alan Deaton and Marin Morrel, members of the Druidic Order. Who knew? “Thank you both for coming on short notice.”

Marin shrugged. “Summers still in swing so I’m clear for now. Wasn’t too hard to clear my schedule.”

Alan just nodded. Derek took that as sign to go on. “We wanted to consult with you about some things we’ve been dealing with the last few weeks.”

Tilting his head and settling his hands on the table, Alan spoke smoothly. “We’ve been hearing rumors but not much else. The Hunters have been keeping things under lock and key so information has been limited.”

Lydia regarded the Druid. “Even if it was limited, surely you and yours have an idea on what we’re dealing with.”

The Druidess folded her arms across her chest. “We have many ideas, but that’s about it. We couldn’t begin to say where to begin.”

Squinting, Danny reached under the table and pulled out an impressively large portfolio. “After some extensive research, we’ve been able to pull these to the top of our “to do” list at this point. Care to give your two cents on the matter?”

In a creepy fashion, both Marin and Alan inclined their heads respectfully. Scott, sitting next to Boyd, suppressed a shudder as Danny began pulling things out and spreading the documents on the table. “Based on information Erica and Boyd had provided, we determined, at least initially, that the creatures we were dealing with were Shades, spirits that should have passed on and gone to Heaven or Hell but are in fact tied to the mortal plane.”

Lydia leaned forward. “Except that based on most of the documents and sources we’ve scrounged through, the Shades weren’t nearly this big. That’s not even taking into account that we couldn’t even sense them before recently. Only Stiles could, which we believe was because of his magic.”

This little tidbit got the attention of both Druids. Alan leaned on his forearms. “You said you couldn’t sense them until recently, as in you can now?”

Jackson nodded, seated next to Lydia. “We could see the last one as opposed to nothing before. Still couldn’t hear or smell it though.”

The alarm in Marin’s eyes was clear, but Alan was still calm. “Please continue.”

Lydia scowled, not liking this reaction, as she brought a new sheet of paper forward. “After the first encounter, Stiles had this branded on his back before he essentially went catatonic.”

Marin looked at the designed on the page. “That’s the Triquetra.”

Danny nodded. “Yes. Originally, it was just branded on Stiles’ back.”

Alan raised an eyebrow. “Originally?”

Derek huffed. “A few days ago, Stiles went ballistic and we had to strap him to the bed to keep him from hurting himself, but something changed. About that time, Isaac, one of my Betas started going crazy too and now he can’t sense Stiles at all even if he is right in front of him. Isaac is pretty listless and numb to the world at this point.”

Danny’s voice hitched. “Also, part of the brand on Stiles’ back changed into a tattoo at the same time. He also stopped chanting a one of the three words he was saying before.”

“Oh dear.” Alan’s first actual reaction to the entire situation.

“Shit.” Marin chewed on her thumbnail while staring at the Triquetra.

Lydia crossed her arms. “This has something to do with the Triple Goddess, doesn’t it?”

Marin didn’t bother to hide her surprise but Alan was calm as a cucumber. “Possibly. How have you come to that conclusion?”

Lydia smirked but her eyes were cold. “Erica mentioned the Full Moon Rites in two weeks and I made the connection. The Triquetra is an old ambiguous symbol, but one of its many meanings has been the symbol of the Maiden, Mother and Crone; the Triple Goddess was also been identified with the Moon.”

“Wait, the moon? Why the moon.” Boyd asked.

Lydia sighed in exasperation, but it was Danny that picked up the thread. “Commonly, the Triple Goddess was the opposite to the Horned God. It was a common duality found in a lot of cultures. Masculine and Feminine, Positive and Negative, Light and Dark, Sun and Moon. The Triple Goddess aspect filters through many different religions where certain Goddesses would be associated with the Maiden, Mother and Crone. You’d often see the three goddesses as individual entities but always associated together.”

Scott perked up. “Like in _Zelda_! The Golden Goddesses that created Hyrule!”

Face palms echoed around the table but Alan raised an eyebrow at Scott. Lydia spoke up and glared at Beta. “Thank you Scott, that was very helpful. Anyways, something is happening with Stiles but we don’t know what at this point. This is where we’d like to pick your brains and get a magnifying glass on things before it’s too late.”

Alan smirked. “Actually, I think Scott is on the right track.”

The entire Hale Pack looked confused except for Scott who positively beamed, but Jackson voiced the thought going through all their minds. “I’m sorry, but what do you mean by ‘ _Scott is on the right track’_?”

Marin pushed herself away from the table and moved to the Smartboard and turned it on. Grabbing one of the e-markers, Marin turned her back to the pack. “Alpha Hale, can you list off your pack for me please? Including yourself.”

Derek double blinked in confusion but complied. “Um, there’s Scott, Isaac and Jackson to start with; they’ve grown up here in Beacon Hills. My pups: Liam, Ethan and Aiden. Now, we’ve got Erica, Boyd, and me obviously.”

As Derek named off his packmates, Marin wrote out their names. Alan nodded to her but addressed no one in particular. “And where does Stiles stand in all this? Is he pack?”

Jackson and Scott snorted gruffly but Derek growled and silenced the Betas. “Of course he’s pack.”

Marin wrote Stiles name on the board as well as Lydia and Danny stared hard at the names listed. Alan nodded once more before turning back to Derek. “I don’t think you noticed it, but you unconsciously did something with your pack when you were listing them off.”

“He was listing them in groups of three.” Lydia’s voice strained.

“Three specific groups of three.” Danny whispered.

A shiver ran through the entire pack. There on the board was a triangle with the names of the pups, another with the Betas, and the last with Derek, Erica and Boyd. Stiles was listed in the middle. Scott looked in awe. “Holy shit, we’ve made the Triforce…”

Marin sat back down in her seat. “Three is a powerful number. It stands for power, balance, change, and many other things in many different cultures. Aside from the Triple Goddess, there is also the concept of time that Three represents: Past, Present, Future.”

Alan nodded and sat back in his chair. “Every major religion and philosophy in the world connects with Three in some way. Christianity’s concept of the Trinity, Greek Mythology’s most powerful Olympians that ruled a third of the world each: Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan, even at the simplest: a magic genie granting three wishes. There is power in understanding Three.”

Lydia for the first time Derek could remember still looked confused. “But what does this have to do with the Triquetra and Stiles?”

Derek gasped when he looked at Isaac’s name and remembered the disconcerting feeling of an amputation. “His packbonds.”

Marin nodded. “It’s most likely that.”

“Did you not tell us Stiles originally chanted three things when he first had the brand?” Alan queried.

Scott pulled out his phone. “Here, I recorded it. Figured we’d need it eventually. Especially now since it’s changed.”

Passing his phone over to the Druids. The pack heard the familiar chant of “ _ **Zorge. Esiasch. Noromi.”**_ _,_ but both the Druids looked frightened. Marin actually dropped the phone on the table and shivered, wrapping arms around herself. Alan palmed his hands to his face. This was not boding well with the pack as the Druids looked up with weary glances. Derek growled. “What is it?!”

“That-that was a language I did not think I would hear spoken again.” Marin shivered.

Danny leaned forward in his seat. “So it is a dead language.”

Alan dropped his head. “And dead for a good reason. That’s Enochian, an old language that only surfaced about 500 years ago.”

Marin looked up with a haunted gaze. “It’s origins aren’t clear, as the only first records come from the journals of occultists John Dee and Edward Kelley, but it’s still a difficult language to tie with. Roughly translated, your Stiles has been chanting **_Friend, Brother, Son_**.”

The pack was hair trigger tense from the revelations and everyone shifted when the door to the conference room crashed open to reveal Allison’s disheveled clothes and hair. “Derek! It’s Stiles!”

In a flurry of claws and teeth, the pack scrambled to Stiles’ room with the Druids trailing behind. The scene greeting them was not what Derek expected. The bed was snapped in half, the rest of the furniture thrown around the room as Dr. Fenris was checking on an unconscious orderly. Stiles, however, was nowhere to be seen. Derek’s eyes flashed crimson red. “Where’s Stiles?!”

Across town at the Beacon Hills High School lacrosse field, a shrill, blood curdling howl echoed into the evening. “WHAT HAPPENED TO DAD?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why hello cliffhanger, I missed you >:)


	11. An Angel Ascends

Nurses, orderlies and patients pressed to the sides of the wall where they lay crumpled on the ground as the pack of wolves ran through the halls chasing after a veritable whirlwind that crashed through the halls of Eichen House. Derek lead the way as the pack ran up the stairwell. Echoes of rapid footfall reverberated off the walls and heartbeats roared through ears all the way up to the roof. Derek slammed his shoulder into the door, sending it flying with a crash. “STILES!” No one was in sight, but all the wolves could still smell Stiles’ familiar scent and ran towards the ledge of the roof looking around.

Lydia gasped running over to the ledge. “Oh my God! Did he fall off?!”

Jackson caught her before she made it to the edge, but his eyes kept searching everywhere else. “No, it just disappears at the edge.”

Derek howled into the evening air and rounded on Allison. “WHAT. HAPPENED.”

Allison was about to respond but Derek’s own phone cut her off. Cursing, he pulled his phone out of his pocket. “WHAT?!”

The Sheriff’s snapped back at the Alpha. “Get your ass here now! Something happened to one of the pups!”

Ice washed through his veins and his heart stop a moment, causing every wolf on the roof to zone in on him. “I’m on my way.” Derek growled and pointed to Scott, Jackson and Boyd. “Keep searching for Stiles, report to me if you pick up his trail.” Silent nods as the wolves dispersed. Pointing to Erica, Allison, Lydia and Danny, he ordered, “You four finish talking to Alan and Marin. We need as much information as we can get.”

Erica looked worried. “What about you?”

A shrill, blood-curdling howl ripped through the evening from a distance and Derek was off, not answering the she-wolf. Looking over the edge, Derek flipped his claws out. Swinging his legs over the edge, he slammed his fingers into the ledge and proceeded to control his fall down four stories to the ground by letting his claws drag in the brick and mortar. When he was about ten feet from the ground, he leapt away and landed in a crouching before running off to his Camaro. Erica whistled as she peered over the edge. “Damn, my new Alpha is all kinds of badass.”

The black Camaro roared into the parking lot of the high school a few minutes later and he was out of the car in a flash, not even bothering to turn the car off or shut the door behind him. Pulse pounding fear coursed through his veins as he rounded the bleachers and saw the Sheriff standing a distance a way as Liam and Ethan wrestled Aiden to the ground. “DAD! What happened to Dad! We’ve gotta go to DAD!”

Liam hissed through his grit his teeth as he tried to hold Aiden’s legs to the ground. “Pillars, Aiden! You have to calm down!”

Aiden thrashed even harder and let loose another shrill, blood curdling howl. Managing to free one of his legs, Aiden kicked Liam in the face sending the littlest wolf sprawling to the ground and letting go of the other leg as he howled in pain. Ethan struggled with his brother’s arms and was losing his grip. Derek leapt to the twins and grabbed Aiden by the shoulders and lifted both twins off the ground. Derek shifted and let lose an extremely ferocious roar right into Aiden’s face.

Aiden stilled into shock. Ethan released his hold now that his papa was here. Derek took note of the pale, slightly milky brown eyes his son had and knew in that moment what had happened. His stomach clenched, but he fought back the bile in the back of his throat. “Aiden. Pillars. Now.” A growl rose in the back of Aiden’s throat but Derek shook his shoulders hard. “Now, AIDEN!”

Aiden’s breath was short as he growled out the litany his dad had taught them since they were little. Derek listened to the whispered _Force…Knowledge…Discipline…_ as well as the slowing of Aiden’s heartbeat. He chanced a small glance to where he watched the Sheriff wipe up blood off Liam’s scowling face before he looked back at his son still in his grip. The heartbeat didn’t lessen much but the breathing was under control and Aiden had shifted back to human before Derek put him down. His son was tense and twitchy as he glared at the ground, not wanting to meet his papa’s crimson red eyes. “Are you in control?”

Aiden was terse. “Yes.”

Derek slowly let his grip slacken before removing it entirely. “Keep your control. Don’t make me stop you like I had to do Isaac.” Aiden looked up through a scowl and gritted teeth, which Derek matched with a snarl. “ I had to punch him out cold, Aiden. Don’t force my hand to the same to you.”

The Sheriff walked over cradling Liam’s head in his arms as the little wolf looked like he wanted to punch his older brother. Ethan pouted. “Is he ok, papa?”

“No, we’ll discuss this later.”

The Sheriff cleared his throat. “Wanna tell us what happened?”

Not answering the Sheriff, Derek instead pulled out his phone and hit a speed dial and put it on speaker. “Allison. Tell us what happened.”

Allison’s voiced filtered in a whisper out of the phone. “Stiles had a seizure or something. He convulsed and the orderly tried to hold him down like last time. I swear I could smell something burning in the room before there was like this hurricane! I got thrown against a wall-”

“-Are you alright?” Derek interrupted her.

“Fine, fine. I was only out for like a minute at the most, but when I came to, Stiles was gone! I got you guys and that had to be like only five minutes from when I was out.”

Derek sighed. “Has Scott, Jackson or Boyd checked in?”

Allison’s frown almost translated through her voice. “Not yet. The rest of us have been talking to the Druids, but there’s nothing else really to add at this point.”

The Sheriff’s eyebrows flew to his hairline. “Druids?”

“I’ll fill you in later.” Derek huffed.

“So we have more information but the puzzle pieces aren’t fitting together.” Allison groused.

“Keep me posted. Have Lydia and Danny get back to the research. You and Erica help them out as much as you can.”

“What about you?”

Derek glanced over at Aiden, still struggling to rein in his wolf. “I’ve got my hands full at the moment. Touch base if you something big comes about.”

“Roger.”

Derek slipped his phone back into his pocket and turned to Aiden. “You ok?”

“I can’t sense dad; it’s like he’s dead to me. What the fuck do you think?”

Derek growled at Aiden who only looked away. Rage, that was what Derek could scent through the air. It wafted off in waves. A gentle touch through their packbond and Derek felt the same thing that he did with Isaac. It was like a violent amputation. “You will calm down or-“

“-or what? Gonna spank me? Oh, bet that will work out for you.”

“Aiden-”

“Shut up! You can’t tell me what to do! You’re not my dad!”

Derek felt an icy knife pierce his heart and the look must have been on his face because Ethan twisted Aiden around and cold cocked him right in the jaw, knocking his twin out like a candle. “You shut the hell up!”

Liam slammed into Derek’s chest and hugged him tight. “Don’t listen to him, Papa. He’s not right in the head.”

The Sheriff was once again looking to his injured grandson as Derek’s knees were weak but he was being held by Ethan and Liam. “Papa, it’s not true. You are just as much a dad to us as-well Tato. Aiden’s not thinking straight.”

Old doubts and demons rose up within Derek that he desperately fought back. He had screwed up a lot when it first came to meeting Stiles and the pups. The months after Stiles accepted the idea of getting to know Derek better had the Alpha walking on eggshells until the pups got tired of the pussyfooting and just out right told Derek to relax. His heart stammered as Aiden’s words etched their way into his heart, but Derek suddenly felt two hands on the sides of his face and Ethan yanking his face to his. Derek gaped as he stood forehead to forehead with his son’s cool blue eyes. “You listen to me papa and you listen well. We three have never felt safer than we have been with you. Tato will always be important to us, but so are you! You. Are. Our. Alpha. Stop doubting yourself. Aiden’s messed up right now. He doesn’t mean anything by it.”

“But-”

“NO Papa! You listen to your two currently sane sons, not the one that’s gone nutty like Uncle Isaac.”

Derek breathed. Breathing slow and steady. He reached around and grabbed Liam and Ethan into a tight embrace. His heart mended as he breathed in their combined scents. The little family broke apart and Derek looked over to see the Sheriff with a sad smile. “You’ll be ok Mr. Big Alpha. Take it easy and sort this,” the Sheriff gestured to the unconscious wolf on the ground, “a little later.”

The wind shifted slightly as Derek was about to make a remark and he instantly felt Liam tense in his arms. “Liam?”

Glowing cool blue eyes met his. “I smell dad.”

Ethan and Derek both stiffened. Liam freed himself and began running into the woods, quickly followed by his conscious older brother and his papa. The Sheriff called out. “What about us?!”

Derek looked over his shoulder. “Take him to your house with Isaac!”

Not waiting for a response, Derek quickly followed his sons as they leapt through the woods. The three wolves easily leapt and bounded through the Preserve. Considering the amount of patrols they had run over the years, the forest of Beacon Hills were as familiar to each wolf as their own bedrooms.

Twilight had set but still Liam kept pacing through the woods, Ethan and Derek trailing close behind despite the encroaching darkness. Derek sniffed and could faintly get Stiles’ scent now. He growled as he pulled out his phone and sent off a text to let the pack know what was going on. “Liam, how much farther?”

Not even looking over his shoulder, the littlest wolf answered, “A few more minutes.”

Silence fell over the three wolves as they made their way into the Preserve. Derek felt his heart begin to rise. Stiles’ scent was growing stronger, but something didn’t sit right with him. A foreboding sense built up as he ran with his sons deeper into the darkness of the night and the shadows of the woods. The half moon above lit the way as Liam began to slow his pace before ultimately stopping.

Derek found themselves in a small ravine much deeper in the Preserve than they normally went. A small waterfall fell into a pool of water around the black and green cliff walls. There standing in the moonlight was Stiles. He had his eyes closed, a small smile, and hands out as if basking in the lunar light. The hospital shirt he wore was gone, showing off his lithe, trim frame but he still wore the same baggy black yoga pants he had on since the disastrous training session although he was barefoot for some reason.

“Stiles…” Derek breathed out relaxing.

“ _TATO_!” Ethan and Liam cried as they leapt to Stiles arms out stretched.

It was when the pups were just outside of arms length did Derek felt the danger. “D-N-D!”

Ethan reacted instantly and ducked and dodged, but Liam didn’t. Stiles caught the little wolf in his right hand by the throat and lifted him off the ground in a chokehold. Liam fought the iron grip and stared wide-eyed. “D-Dad?”

Stiles opened his eyes to reveal the same blank, pale eyes Derek had seen before at Eichen House and a smile that was too sharp, too mocking crept onto Stiles’ face. Stiles cocked his head to the side. “Daddy isn’t home right now.”

That voice. It should have been warm and comforting. A voice that could soothe the soul or strengthen the heart. This was not Stiles. It was slimy and cold. Derek felt shivers down his spine like thick oil dripping from his back. Liam and Ethan shuddered as well, but Liam also gasped from being lifted higher and what looked like the grip tightening around his windpipe. Derek’s paternal instincts kicked in. “LET MY SON GO NOW!”

Ethan actually toppled over from his crouching position from the concussive force of his papa’s roar. Liam’s and Stiles’ hair ruffled, but Stiles looked unperturbed. Stiles rolled his head to the left side and gazed at Derek from a crooked angle. “Why?” Another squeeze and another gasp from Liam.

Derek began to shift, claws popping out. “I will not allow you to harm him. I will rend you limb from limb.”

Not-Stiles, because there is no way Derek can associate this person in front of him as his mate, gave him a full toothy grin from the crooked angle. Derek’s skin crawled and the disgusting feeling shivered down his spine again, this time as if a large paintbrush covered is oil slowly stroked its way down every one of his vertebrae. Liam continued to struggle with the iron grip around his neck. “Dad, stop, it hurts.”

Ethan growled and tried to launch himself at Stiles only to be caught by the throat as well. Ethan gasped and tried to fight the merciless fingers around his throat as well. Not-Stiles twitched his head up and brought both boys close to his face. “Dad is-hm-he’s gone. He’s-” Not-Stiles gasped, “-dead!”

Not-Stiles threw both boys at Derek and all three went tumbling backwards in a pile of limbs. All three wolves looked up at Not-Stiles as he advanced towards them lying on the ground. Black, spidery veins crawled away from Not-Stiles blank, pale eyes, tilting his head to the right and smiled once more with all his teeth on display. “Oh, this is going to be so much fun.”

Derek tried to grab the boys and throw them behind him, but it was hard to do on his back as the boys began to panic as Not-Stiles walked closer. A hiss-thud stopped Not-Stiles in his tracks as he frowned at the arrow quivering in the ground. A moment later, four wolves dropped into the small ravine. Jackson, Scott, Erica and Boyd all had glowing, yellow eyes and fangs at the ready. Up above along the ledge, Allison had another arrow notched in her longbow. Not-Stiles cocked his head with a pout. “Hm, seven wolves and a Huntress.” He leered at the half moon hanging in the sky and sighed. “I suppose not tonight.” Not-Stiles turned on his heel and everyone could see his back. The bottom two points of the triquetra had been changed to a tattoo. Only the top portion remained a red, throbbing brand.

Jackson growled as he leapt at Not-Stiles. “Where do you think you’re going?!”

About seven feet away from Not-Stiles, Jackson was suddenly flung to the side of the ravine and crashed into the wall. He fell to the ground with a thud and didn’t move from where he landed. Derek had gotten up by now and pushed Liam and Ethan behind him as he, Scott, Erica and Boyd faced Not-Stiles. Not-Stiles looked over his shoulder and Derek sucked in a small breath. He could see the ghostly outline of large, black wings gently waving about as Not-Stiles smirked. “I shall depart for now. I don’t feel like dealing with you mutts tonight.”

Erica growled and snapped her fangs. “Who the hell are you?!”

Derek could see a snap of the ghostly wings launched Not-Stiles into the air as he turned mid-flight to face the pack with a cruel smile. “You can call me Sariel seeing as the soul that inhabited this vessel is gone.”

Derek heard every heartbeat stop before every other wolf around him launched themselves at Sariel as Allison fired off arrow after arrow. Derek could see the spectral wings pull back and whipped forward, loosing a typhoon and knock both arrows and wolves out of the air. Derek stood his ground against the gale, only to watch Sariel smirk again before he flew off into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Betcha thought something good was coming with a title like that huh?
> 
>  


	12. A Glimmer in the Fog

Derek scrubbed his face with his hand as he looked over to Scott sleeping in the armchair in some awkward position he wasn’t sure the Beta wouldn’t be complaining about later. It had been a long night. A long and exhausting night. Their search for Stiles left them drained, physically and emotionally. He couldn’t wrap his mind around what had happened. What could he have missed? Things could not be spiraling out of control this badly with everything with the pack. A gentle knock on the door had him raising his head to see Erica and Boyd walking in with carrying boxes of what Derek could smell as doughnuts and carrying some pretty strong coffee. Erica placed a cup in front of him and when he took the lid off, he cocked his eyebrows. “Irish coffee?”

Erica smiled as she took a sip of her own. “Figured a little whiskey would be good after our night hunting down Stiles.”

Derek took a sip and felt the warmth of the coffee and the warmth of the whiskey spread in his stomach. It was comforting and relaxing. He turned to Boyd, who laid out the boxes onto the table. “Where is everyone else?”

“Your sons wanted to stop and see their grandfather before coming here. I think they are pretty shaken up by the whole thing. The Sheriff said he’d be right behind us with the pups.”

Derek shook his head. “No doubt. I can’t imagine how they are processing everything.”

Erica nodded as she took a seat. “Jackson and Lydia went over to the library to see if they could figure out what the hell is going on. Allison stopped to see her folks and see if they had ever seen anything like this before.”

Heaving a big sigh, Derek drained the rest of his coffee. “So we’re nowhere with what’s going on with Stiles?”

Boyd shrugged. “Lot’s of info, but no idea how things fit together.”

“Speaking of fitting together, how are things for the two of you?”

Boyd was thoughtful for a moment. “Well, we certainly know it’s lively here in Beacon Hills.”

Erica snorted. “Understatement.”

Derek shook his head. “It’s not normally this…I’m not really sure how to put it.”

Boyd chuckled quietly. “Do we need to label this kind of crazy?”

Derek was pensive for a moment. “Probably not.”

Another knock preceded Liam and Ethan walking into the living room. Liam and Ethan plopped next to Derek and snuggled into his sides as he wrapped an arm around each one. “Hi pups, you doing ok? Where’s your grandfather?”

“We’re alright. Dzadiku left and told us to tell you he’d deal with most of the paper work so we can focus on the more pressing stuff.”

Derek sighed. “I really have to get the Sheriff a bacon cheeseburger next time I see him.”

“Papa, you know Dzadiku isn’t allowed red meat or bacon.” Liam scowled.

“Your grandfather is totally earning this no matter what your dad says.”

The lighthearted atmosphere suddenly chilled. Liam pouted and tears welled up in his eyes. “Papa, what’s wrong with dad?”

Ethan tried to hold in his emotions, but his voice hitched. “We’re really worried. Last night…”

Derek pulled his sons in close. “I know, I know. All your aunts and uncles are trying to figure out what’s going on. I’ve never dealt with something like this before.”

Both boys slumped in their seats. Erica was quiet for a moment before pushing the boxes towards them. “Here, why don’t you guys eat?”

Both boys perked up a moment before Derek grabbed them. “Two each. No more.”

Both boys scowled. Erica looked confused. “Surely they can have more than two doughnuts.”

Derek vehemently shook his head. “Oh _no_ , I learned my lesson a long time ago. Even as wolves, limited sugar intake for my sons.”

Boyd cocked an eyebrow. “There’s a story behind that, isn’t there?”

A chuckled from the armchair had everyone else turning to see Scott chuckling with his eyes closed. “Derek learned the hard way what happens when little wolves get too much sugar.”

Ethan huffed. “We’re not that young anymore, Uncle Scott.”

Scott sat up and stretched from where he’d been sleeping. “And yet, years later, your papa knows better than to give you pups too much sugar.” Liam was petulant as he nibbled on a chocolate éclair. “Don’t give me that look, Liam. I know the story perfectly well on what happened that day.” Boyd cocked an eyebrow at Scott. “Lots of doughnuts, sugar high pups, solid 90 minutes of howling and running through the woods.”

Erica whistled low and looked at Boyd. “If we ever have kids, they will be lucky to see an M&M in our house.”

Boyd nodded. “Dutifully noted.”

Ethan groused. “We were not that bad!”

A laugh from Derek drew everyone’s attention. “Says you, I chased you pups all over the Preserve!”

Liam shrugged. “You needed the exercise. Dad could have kept up.”

Derek glared at his son. “I’m using your new racket as a spaghetti strainer later.”

Liam looked offended as Ethan mused over the thought for a moment. “Would that even work?”

“Rude!” Liam snarked.

Erica chuckled as Boyd smiled. “You’re very lucky, Derek. You have some great kids there.”

Derek’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Only because of how Stiles raised them before I came into the picture.”

Liam and Ethan sighed and snuggled into his shoulders. Ethan was fourteen and the same height as Derek now. In a few short years, Ethan would be off to college forging his own way in life. The empty nest feeling was already looming over Derek’s head and he wasn’t even married yet. Derek reached up and patted both of his sons’ heads. “Alright, let’s not get depressed. The stench takes forever to get out of the couch.”

Scott snorted. “That’s what you get for buying a plush suede living room set.”

“I am not arguing with you about that leather set you almost convinced Stiles to get again.” Derek’s phone cut off Scott’s rebuttal. The Alpha glanced at the text message. “Jackson says Lydia may have got something and wants to meet us at Eichen House.”

Boyd glanced at his watch. “Um, my first shift at dispatch starts soon…”

Derek waved off the rest. “Go, make a good impression or Kira will give me the worst static cling ever. We’ll catch you up later.”

Erica looked skeptical at the threat but Scott shook his head. “Trust us, Kira’s threat for static cling is not to be taken lightly…”

With a reassuring smile, Derek shooed at Boyd. “I promise, it’s fine.”

Erica and Boyd shared a kiss before he got up and left.

Scott looked over to Derek and the pups on the couch. “We should go. Wouldn’t want to make Lydia wait.”

The pups shivered at the thought of an impatient Aunt Lydia.

<~~~~~>

Danny looked up when he heard a rather nasty smack and Jackson crying out in pain, rubbing the back of his head. “Dude, what did you do?”

Lydia rounded on Danny, who had the good instincts to sit up straighter and pay attention to the commanding force that was Ms. Martin. “Do not think that I will _ever_ sit on a solution where killing Stiles is the only answer I come up with.”

Jackson squeaked. “That’s not what I said!”

Lydia turned her vicious gaze at Jackson as Danny subtly slashed across his neck for him to shut up. “And just how do you think I should take ‘We need a final solution, Lydia. How do we stop Stiles?’ when it seems he’s possessed?”

“Are we sure it’s a possession?”

All three heads around the table turned to see Derek standing in the doorway with Liam and Ethan in tow. Danny beckoned the three of them into the study and shifted some of the many books and scrolls to the side as Lydia composed herself and Derek and his boys sat down. “We believe so. Based on what we’ve been able to find so far since we’ve finally got a name to what we’re looking for.”

Derek leaned on his forearms. “So we’ve got info on this Sariel?”

Jackson snorted as Danny grabbed a book and flipped it to the right page. “Sariel, one of the seven Archangels of the Earth. One of the Archangels of Healing and Death.”

Ethan’s eyes widened. “Archangel of Death?!”

Lydia nodded. "He's also known as Azrael in some texts."

Jackson snorted. “But wait, it gets even better!”

Even as a werewolf, Jackson did not see the smack to the back of his head coming from Lydia. Again. This time with a book. “Shut up, Jackson!” The werewolf clutched the back of his head with both hands and whimpered. “According to the Book of Enoch, Sariel is one of the Fallen Angels.”

Derek squinted. “So he’s from Hell.”

Danny cleared his throat. “Um, not actually.”

Rubbing his temples, Derek groaned. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”

Lydia ignored Derek’s melodramatic moment as she grabbed a different musty old tome from the pile. “When Lucifer lead his Rebellion against Heaven, a third of the angels were cast out and sent to Hell. That is what is commonly regarded as the rise of Demons.”

Derek growled. “So we’re dealing with Demons.”

Danny cleared his throat. Again. “Um, not actually.”

This time, Ethan and Liam began to massage their temples in sync with Derek. Jackson found it pretty endearing how much alike the pups were to their Alpha. Ethan looked up first. “Gonna spill Uncle Danny?”

“So the Book of Enoch-“

Liam interrupted his uncle. “I’ve never heard of that book from the Bible.”

“That’s because it isn’t.” Lydia remarked.

The pup squinted in confusion. “Then how do we know it’s legit?”

Danny nodded. “The Bible we know of today is a collection of writing from many different people. Even today, different branches of Christianity accept certain writings where others don’t. The Book of Enoch is a book that is said to have been written by Noah’s great grandfather and widely contested on its importance as it is a very old Jewish tome but not directly inspired by God.”

Derek groused. “We don’t need a history lesson, just tell us what we need to know about what’s going on now.”

Danny looked sheepish. “The Book of Enoch lists another set of Fallen Angels. Angels that had other crimes not related to the Rebellion. Sariel is one of them and considered one of the leaders of this particular faction.”

Lydia cut off Derek’s next question. “Aside from various other crimes, this sect of Angels basically got boners for humans and had their way with the ladies. This gave rise to the Nephillim, half angel, half human beings.”

Jackson added, “They were known as giants in some texts, I think we’ve already faced them.”

Derek’s eyes widened. “You mean that black monstrosity from the backyard?”

The Beta nodded. “Think about it, that thing is almost twice your size and most people consider you pretty tall as is. People from that age and time period? They are way shorter than you historically. They’d definitely be considered giants.”

Derek was left awestruck before Lydia tapped a nail on the table to draw his attention once more. “That’s not all…”

Ethan actually slammed his head against the table, albeit not hard enough to do any damage. “Of course.”

Danny, Lydia and Jackson all squirmed in their seat before Lydia sighed, seeing as Danny and Jackson weren’t going to break the bad news. “Sariel’s main crime? He taught Humanity the “Course of the Moon” which was expressly forbidden.”

Liam whispered, “Course of the Moon?”

Danny looked grim. “He taught Men the Lunar Calender.”

Derek gasped. “Anything tied to Humanity’s dealing with the moon is directly influenced by Sariel!”

Lydia nodded. “Such as any lore tied to the phases of the moon.”

“Like the pull of the Full Moon on Werewolves…”

Jackson reached to a spare chair piled with documents and pulled out a large piece of paper. “Once we got that, we looked back over the few weeks. The day Isaac went bonkers first? Night of the New Moon. Fast forward and we got the other night? Aiden loosing it and our first time running into Sariel? It’s the night of the Half Moon. Each night, one of us had our packbond severed with Stiles and part of his brand was changed into a tattoo.”

“Is that why he was branded with the triquetra?”

Danny was thoughtful a moment. “It’s possible. Lydia’s theorized that it may be one of Sariel’s oldest symbols. The triquetra has such a vague history, no one is sure where it came from.”

Derek could see where this was going. “The last bond. It’s going to break on the night of the Full Moon.”

Three nods from Jackson, Danny, and Lydia. “Sariel is going to break the link between Stiles and you, Boyd or Erica. We believe once that happens he will be strong enough to finish what he started.”

“What do you mean?” Derek scowled.

Jackson ran a tired hand across his face. “Derek, think about this: where did this Fallen Angel come from if not Hell?” Derek’s eyebrows furrowed for a moment before Jackson barreled on. “The Book of Enoch states those Fallen Angels that lusted after women are bound within the Earth itself with chains of darkness until the End of Time.”

Ethan growled. “This douchebag is trying to start the Apocalypse?”

“Probably. We just know we have to stop him before the Full Moon. We don’t know what will happen to Stiles if the brand is complete.”

Liam’s teary face met his Aunt’s. “Is dad’s soul-I mean, is he really gone?”

Lydia’s vicious glare softened at her nephew. “I don’t think so sweetheart. If he was dead and gone, the packbonds would all be gone, not severed as is. You can still feel your bond with your dad right?”

“Then what’s happened to him?” Ethan asked.

<~~~~~>

Liam and Ethan stood in the door of the sunroom. Ethan had an arm around his little brother. Derek, Scott and Erica were still talking things through with Jackson and Lydia; they wanted to bring their findings to Dr. Valack and see if there was anything that could be done for Stiles. A lot of the discussion began to weight heavily on the pups and they excused themselves.

Liam wrapped his arms around himself and dry sobbed a little watching his dad sit in the corner, dark circles around his eyes and chanting _“They’re real, They’re real, They’re real”_ over and over again as he stared at game of _Othello_. Ethan squeezed his shoulder. “Papa will fix things.”

Liam shook his head. “Ethan, he’s convinced you have a twin now! First some one named Isaac he keeps saying is our Uncle and now some kid named Aiden who just happens to be your twin?!”

Ethan grabbed his brother’s head and squished it into his chest. “Shh, it’s ok Li-Li. Like I said, papa will help dad. We can trust that things will work out.”

“How can you be so calm about all this?!” Liam squeaked as he hugged Ethan hard.

“Li-Li, think of all the shit we’ve had to deal with in our lives? This has to be the most tame and relatively ‘normal’ thing so far. Papa will take care of dad and so will we.”

Across the room, Stiles moved a black piece onto the board and began flipping the white tiles to black. The black figure in front of him placed a white tile on the board and began flipping tiles as well. **“You seem to be causing more trouble.”**

“I’m not the one that is forgetting family.”

**“You are the one that is currently being kept in a nut house for Grand Delusions.”**

“They aren’t Grand and they aren’t Delusions. Isaac and Aiden are real!”

**“You are the only one that believes that.”**

Stiles stopped for a moment. “That’s right…I’m the only one that believes that…”

**“I’m glad you are seeing sense at last.”**

Stiles squinted as a single thought resounded within him. _Everyone just dismisses my ideas. When did my pack suddenly not trust my judgment?_


	13. The key to success is to focus our conscious mind on things we desire not things we fear. ~ Brian Tracy

It had been a little disconcerting for Derek and the pups when they came to see Stiles that afternoon. After talking to the doctor about the prognosis of Delusion Disorder, Derek had been prepared to calm and comfort his fiancé. Liam and Ethan both remarked how Stiles had been chanting up till a point while playing a game of Othello alone when he suddenly stopped. He still had dark circles around his eyes from the lack of sleep, but Derek noticed Stiles was the cool and reserved man he once knew.

“Dad?” Liam whispered as he inched closer to Stiles.

Stiles turned and smiled warmly opening his arms. “Hi Liam.”

Liam choked a bit before he leapt into his dad’s arms and would have hugged the crap out of him if Ethan hadn’t jumped in and squished him in a hug as well. Stiles could feel Liam’s scowl in his chest as Liam’s face was mashed further into the white scrub shirt by Ethan, causing him to chuckle. “Ethan, stop squeezing us. I can feel Liam’s scowl is reaching Derek-levels to my chest, which shouldn’t be possible.”

Ethan pulled back a little as Liam freed his face and glared at his brother with a nasty side eye while still hugging Stiles. Derek double blinked and then scowled in indignation. “Excuse me?”

The openly warm laugh Stiles let loose caused a warmth to bloom inside Derek’s chest. Pure joy radiated within him. It was the first time in weeks that Stiles sounded normal. He wasn’t obsessed with someone fictional or completely neglecting his family in his pursuit of the “truth” out there somewhere. The lifting of that constant tension bearing down on him had Derek standing taller and straighter. Derek crossed his arms and cocked an eyebrow at him. “Are you done?”

Stiles pressed his face into Liam’s blond head to smother his laugh. The little pup squawked in surprise as Stiles rubbed his face and took a deep breath. “Ok, I’m done now.”

Ethan pulled away and his eyes were shiny with unshed tears and a bright smile as he stood next to Derek. “Are you doing ok, dad?”

“Yeah I’m ok.” Stiles bit his lower lip and looked at Ethan and Derek standing before him as he felt Liam lift his face from his chest. “I’m sorry about…about the last few weeks. I don’t know what came over me.” Stiles felt a drop of ice in his stomach as he watched the tension fall from Ethan and Derek and felt Liam almost wilt in relief. “I didn’t mean to hurt you all…”

Derek was kneeling beside Stiles’ chair in a moment. “Hey, it’s ok. It’s ok. We understand.”

Stiles smiles as he pulls all three wolves into a tight embrace, but he shakes his head. “I know you don’t understand, I don’t understand myself, but we’ll make it through.”

Liam’s muffled voice came from under his chin. “Does this mean you’ll come home?”

“If the doctor thinks it’s ok, yes I’ll come home.”

Derek pulled up and his eyes were shining. “I’ve-we’ve missed you.”

Stiles rubbed Derek’s smooth chin, the Alpha leaning into the touch before Stiles grabs his neck and pulls him towards his neck. Derek breathes in the intoxicating scent of his fiance.

**So now you begin to out right lie to them?**

Stiles looks up and see the black figure standing in front of him. Squinting carefully and embracing his family tighter, Stiles mentally projects, “ _I’ll make my move in time. Until then, you’re in for a ride with me, Wilson.”_

**Wilson?**

**_“_** _Until I figure out who the hell you are and why I’m the only one that can see and hear your creepy ass, you’re my volleyball.”_

**I have been with you for some time.**

_“No shit. You’ve been there in my life for a while now. I just never paid enough attention to pick you out.”_

The black figure shrugged, unconcerned. Stiles just glared harder. **You awareness is irrelevant at this point. There is nothing you can do more. You have already failed your pack.**

Schooling his heart and body and infinitely focusing his mind, Stiles’ gaze would have set the black figure on fire. Literally. “ _SHUT UP WILSON!”_

<~~~~~>

Boyd felt himself rising from his feet and flying straight back into the brick wall and crashing off the rebound to the ground and back to his feet. He rallied himself and shifted his weight to the balls of his feet. It should have been obvious in retrospect. The few weeks he had gotten to know the pack, it should have been glaringly obvious that there was great strength in each wolf. Not just the muscle, but the conviction of heart. With the history behind them all and the leadership at the helm, Boyd should have anticipated this. He snorted ruefully as he advanced carefully. “Calm down, Aiden.”

Let it be said that Aiden Stilinski was more than the cute face and lean muscles most people only saw of the teen, same as his brothers. It wasn’t often that Aiden demonstrated his quicker wit but it was there, lurking under the false bravado most teenagers adopted. Teachers and the pack knew that Stiles had raised his sons to be cunning and analytical thinkers so keeping their minds challenged and engaged had become a difficult thing to do. Tonight, Boyd had accepted the role of jailer to relieve Derek and allowing him some rest. Currently, he had tricked Boyd into releasing him from his cage and collar in the basement of the pack house where his papa had put him after unsuccessful attempts to subdue his feral son.

Life in Beacon Hills had for the most part been an amazing time compared to previous encounters with other packs over the years for Boyd and Erica. Mated Omegas were always driven away as there was little to be gained for accepting them. They couldn’t be paired off and as mated Omegas, they _obviously_ had some issue with being in a pack that had them alone to start with. With Derek and Stiles accepting them into their pack, floodgates had opened for them. Erica was currently at home resting, after dealing with a strange craving for Key Lime pie ice cream and dried anchovies Boyd had delivered after his shift at dispatch.

Home. It was a beautiful word that Boyd had long imagined having to fight relentlessly for. For years, the two of them had traversed the lands looking for that wondrous place and now, they finally had it. This pack was unlike any other more clannish ones. There was no sense of being outsiders. Almost as soon as he had pleaded his case to Derek, he and Erica had been accepted and even made comfortable. Boyd had made his resolution after their first pack night reuniting with Stiles and the pups. This pack, this glorious hodgepodge of misfits was worth fighting for.

Which made the current situation all the more difficult. He had a feral teen wolf in front of him that literally knows kung fu. That had been emphasized greatly by everyone in the pack and demonstrated when he sent Boyd flying with a single strike. The biggest problem is that Boyd really, _really_ didn’t want to fight Aiden. He was the son of the Alpha Pair who Boyd owed a lot too and besides, he was just a kid. Right?

Further musing was cut off as Aiden roared and leapt at Boyd. Boyd had no choice at this point but to fight back and hopefully subdue him. Letting loose his own roar, Boyd thrust his claws at Aiden in an attempt to catch him by the shoulder. The sensation of his claws sinking into Aiden’s left shoulder had Boyd filled with butterflies for a moment. Anxious that he’d just attacked part of the pack and nervous that it seemed to easy to hit Aiden given how much warning he had been given about his fighting prowess.

Which is to say that the moment was short lived as Aiden followed the momentum of his leap to twist his torso like a whip and clenched his legs around Boyd’s neck as he latched on to both of Boyd’s arms. Cool blue eyes stared him down as Boyd desperately try to maneuver his windpipe for more air. The edge of his vision began to darken.

Boyd was suddenly gasping for breath and falling to his knees with a hacking cough when he felt hand hold him up. “You ok?”

Boyd looked to find Jackson’s face, brow creased with concern. Boyd heard a clang and growling as he looked up to find Derek holding Aiden by the throat, pinned against the cell bars. The Alpha’s crimson red eyes flared to life as he constricted the airway of his son. Aiden’s own gnashing teeth and frothing mouth become choked off as moments passed. Soon, the young wolf’s struggling began to slow and his head lolled before he was rendered unconscious.

“I’m sorry.” Boyd rasped out. “I really thought he was hurt when-”

“It’s ok, I understand. I won’t hold you to this.” Derek softly growled as he gently carried his son back into the cage and shackled him once more. Jackson helped Boyd to his feet. Carefully navigating the stairs, Boyd and Jackson came up to the kitchen where Boyd was carefully deposited at the table.

Letting his head fall with a thunk, Boyd grumbled into the wood. “I’m such an idiot.”

Jackson, who had been rifling through a cabinet for a cup, turned to Boyd. “Don’t be like that man. It was just a mistake.”

“A mistake that could have ended badly. What happens if Aiden had gotten out? Argents may have to be called in to take down a feral wolf…”

A glass of water was placed near Boyd’s head, causing him to turn and look up to Jackson. “Oddly enough, that was the exact reason why the pups have been with Derek. Hunters place under-aged Betas with local Alphas to keep them in check.”

Boyd cocked an eyebrow. “So this has happened before.”

Jackson sat down opposite of Boyd and gestured for him to drink. “No, but it was well planned out. Let it be known the Argents definitely know what they are doing.”

Footfall preceded Derek appearing from the basement. He looks weary as he made his way over to the table where Jackson and Boyd were already seated. Derek grabbed the glass of water in front of Boyd and drained it in gulp. “Aiden should be out for a while.”

Boyd hung his head in shame. “I’m sorry that you had to deal with it yourself.”

Waving away to remark, Derek shook his head. “What’s done is done. Learn from this and move on. Just remember never open the cell door unless there are two people around.”

Boyd could only nod in agreement. Jackson placed a hand on Derek’s forearm. “Anything we can do to help?”

Palming both his eyes, Derek rubbed his face and absently reminded himself he really needed to tame the beard at some point. “I’ve got a Beta that’s basically gone catatonic, a son that is borderline feral, and my mate is possessed by a Fallen Archangel with me not having a fucking clue on what to do! If you can give me some sort of answer to anything, it would be awesome right now!”

Something that felt like rumbling thunder rolled over the house that had every wolf on alert. Springing from their seats, Jackson, Boyd and Derek darted towards the front door, where they were meet by Liam and Ethan coming down the stairs. Once all five wolves were on the porch, all their eyes ignited and a low growl settled in all their throats.

Hovering above the clearing was a familiar body, but an unwelcome presence. Derek could see Sariel’s shadowy wings flutter back and forth, keeping him suspended in the air. His arms crossed over Stiles’ bare, scar covered chest as he tilted his head to the left with that same creepy smirk from before. Sariel scanned their faces and once he felt his eyes connect to Derek’s, he began to laugh. His chuckles had the impression of rumbling storm clouds. Extending a hand upwards, Sariel courtly bowed at the waist. “Well, well, how do you mutts do tonight? I thought I’d see if Alpha wanted me to babysit tonight. I mean SOMEONE has to watch Aiden right?” Hackles rose from all the wolves and fangs flashed into view. “Now, now. Is that any way to treat someone that’s part of the pack? I mean after all, I am the reason you all are standing here!” Sariel laughed, throwing his head back and hugging himself.

Stepping forward, Derek roared his own challenge. “Did you come with a death wish? We’ll rend you limb from limb!”

Sariel snorted deliriously. It almost reminded the pack of Stiles. Enough that it hurt within. Enough that it made their anger boil. “As if any of you could have any hopes of defeating Stiles to start with, let alone me!”

Tilting his head forward, Sariel’s eyes glowed ethereal white as he stretched his arm out, hand waving up and down. Derek’s eyes stopped glowing as he recognized the move. “Oh shit! Rozproszenie i otaczają!”"

Large boulders sprang from the ground in front of Sariel and hovered in front of him. All five wolves sprang away from the center as Sariel thrust his arm out and sent the five boulders flying where the pack once stood. Before the dust even settled, the pack had Sariel surrounded but the Fallen Archangel didn’t seem perturbed in the least. Eyeing Derek who stood his ground in front of him, Sariel flicked his arms to the sides, where Jackson and Boyd both stood. Faster than either wolf could move, fireballs flew in both directions, exploding on impact and sending both wolves careening backwards. Jackson tumbled a good distance away where as Boyd ended up slamming into a tree, both in a daze.

Derek flicked his eyes left and right to check on Jackson and Boyd, only to miss the subtle flick of Sariel’s hands behind him as Liam and Ethan both growled and crouched, about to pounce. Unfortunately for his sons, Derek watched as roots erupted from the ground and quickly tangled their way around the pups like wooden anacondas. Derek’s crimson red eyes flashed as he watched Sariel gently land in front of him an started to lazily sauntered towards the Alpha. Derek took a small step forward only to have the ground collapse around him as he fell into a small pit trap and have the earth close in around him like a prison. The dirt tightly held his arms at his side as the ground came up to mid chest. He struggled for a moment before familiar barefoot stood before him. Sariel squatted in front of Derek and chuckled. “You didn’t think I wouldn’t understand what you were saying? Stiles taught you those commands! You are all powerless against Stiles to start with and now with me at the steering wheel? Well, you all re about truly and well fucked.” Sariel reached out and gently caressed Derek’s cheek and scruffy beard. The long, pianist fingers that he usually would lean into were cold and clammy. The urge to bite them off the hand attached had him twitching. “See? I knew you wouldn’t hurt poor, helpless Stiles.” Sariel pouted before cupping both hands to Derek’s face hard. “I must admit, I may have fallen for the daughters of men, but I could easily bend for a son of the moon as well.”

Sariel leaned in and Derek went wide-eyed as he realized what Sariel wanted. Behind Sariel, Ethan’s voice carried as he struggled against his leafy restraints. “Stay away from papa, you sick fuck!”

Sariel stopped and gently looked over his shoulder. “You are such a bad boy. I may have to clean out your mouth with – _SHUT UP WILSON!”_

Derek, Liam and Ethan double blinked as Sariel clapped a hand over his mouth in surprise before he leapt away and with a snap of his wings and took flight into the night. Boyd chose that moment to come to near the tree. He shook his head to regain his senses and looked around. “Did I miss something? What just happened?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Rozproszenie i otaczają!** = Scatter and surround!


	14. Know Thyself, Know Thy Enemy - Sun Tzu

As formidably trained as they were, the Argent could admit that the sight of a pissed off Lydia Martin could still make them squirm in their seat. The unrelenting glare with crossed arms and fingers tapping in a _staccato_ tempo on her own jacket was pulled together by the tight hair bun fitted with what was known to be blessed silver throwing spikes to broadcast to all that Lydia was currently armed, always dangerous. “I’m sorry, you’re telling me that there is _nothing_ you can tell me about what we’re dealing with?”

Victoria placed to fingers to each temple as she massaged the tension away. “Yes, a thousands times yes! We don’t know how to deal with this. The Hunter Archives have no detailing with Angelic Possession. Demons from the Pit? Sure. Fae from Oberon’s Court? Yes. Spectral entities? Why not. Angels on high? Nope!”

Chris placed a calming hand on his wife’s shoulder as he turned to Lydia. “Angelic Possession has been chronicled but there has never been a time where it was viewed as a negative. It’s always been some sort of holy blessing to benefit the host. Banishing Angels? Never been done before.”

Lydia squinted hard as the fingers visible on her jacket clenched. “Never been documented at least…”

Chris leaned forward on his forearms, his eyes hooded in concern. “Lydia, you have to know we would do anything we could to help. Aside from our duties as Hunters, the pack is important to us as well. We’re not withholding information or anything.”

Nodding in tandem with what Chris was saying, Victoria added, “We’ve touched base with colleagues over in the Middle East. If there is any particular Lore that might help, it will probably be from the Bible’s cradle.”

Lydia nodded once, but she wasn’t squinting anymore. The Argents would take that as a win. “Do we have a time frame of when we’ll get anything back from them?”

Chris shook his head. “No time frame unfortunately.”

Lydia began to nibble on her right thumbnail and side-eyed the wall as her mind went into overdrive. “We’re running out of time. If our guess is correct, Sariel is going to break one more packbond tomorrow on the Full Moon and he’ll be whole.”

Victoria puckered her face. “You still haven’t told us what this Sariel’s endgame is. Or do you even know it?”

The fierce mask of bravado fell from Lydia’s face, which actually had the Argents on alert again. “ _And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day._ ”

Chris’ face paled. “That sounds rather ominous.”

Feeling the weight of the past few weeks on her shoulders, Lydia slouched on the table in front of her. “Jude 1:6. King James Version. Danny and I have cross-referenced other non-biblical sources for a while now. Our best guess? Sariel plans on breaking opening the “ _everlasting chains under darkness_ ” and free the other Fallen Angels.”

“And that would be?” Chris inquired.

Lydia shrugged. “Most likely? Within the earth itself. The Fallen Angels aren’t in Hell as these are Angels that fell at a different time from Lucifer’s Rebellion.”

“With one of the Fallen Angels broken out and looking for a way to open the doors for the others. Great.”

Victoria shook her head in astonishment. “But why Stiles though?”

Lydia laughed mirthlessly. “Because he is one of a kind. A by-product of pure chaos that made him the perfect key to unlock their prison.”

Chris rolled his eyes. “Sounds like Stiles.”

Regaining her self-control, Lydia ticked off her points on her fingers. “Stiles is mortal, he’s not a supernatural being. Stiles can use magic and not just the basic traditionally spiritual Four Elements, he’s tied to the dogmatic spiritual/physical Five Elements. Our pack has built a powerful connection of three groups of three. Stiles is in the pack, an integral part at that. Stiles doesn’t have a Wolf that would have fought the possession.”

Now rubbing his own temples like his wife, Chris glanced at Lydia. “So basically, he’s the perfect key with the perfect battery pack connected to the perfect power gird without a security system.”

Lydia shrugged again. “Almost.” Chris and Victoria both froze with their fingers on their temples and squinted at Lydia. “It looks like there might be a little kink in Sariel’s plan if what Derek told me is true.”

Victoria glared as she lowered her hands. “Stop being coy and just tell us. What hope do we actually have in this whole situation?”

Lydia smirked as she examined her own nails. “Stiles.”

 

<~~~~~>

 

The wind’s gentle caress on his face trailed along as Stiles continued to breath slowly, evenly, deeply. All around him, the forest spoke and Stiles listened. The sunlight cascading a cacophony of babble, the ground thrumming with whispers, the trees swaying with mirth, the stream gushing with anger. Everything around Stiles was nothing new and usually, it would help bring him back to his center for his meditation.

**This isn’t going to help.**

Stiles snorted while keeping his eyes shut, hands still resting on his knees. “It would help if you weren’t distracting me.”

**I am not the illusion you think I am.**

“No, you are the distraction I know you are, Wilson.”

**Again, why do you insist I am a volleyball?**

“You’re a distraction. Pretty sure that’s all I’ve called you thus far.”

The black figure hovered outside of Stiles personal space but Stiles could still sense him. It was irritating as fuck. Even with his eyes closed, Stiles summoned his magic and tried to impale Wilson with a large tree root.

**That was uncalled for. I believe you would have said, “Rude!” in that instance.**

Stiles actually peaked out of his left eye to see Wilson with his arms crossed as a large wooden spear pierced him from cock to crown. “Huh, you have been with me for a while to pick up some of my speech pattern.”

Wilson floated away from his impalement as Stiles willed the root back into the earth and went back to his meditation or at least attempted to. “Dad?!”

Stiles sighed and turned his head to glance over his shoulder. “Yes Liam?”

Stiles’ youngest pup came trotting up to the tree stump Stiles was currently perched on. “Papa was wondering what you wanted for dinner.”

The eyebrows disappeared on Stiles forehead as Wilson visibly shuddered as he floated behind Liam. **Perhaps it would be wise for you to venture back home now...** Apparently, even Wilson was afraid of Derek’s cooking. Who knew?

“Derek isn’t trying to cook again is he?”

Liam’s eyes blew open. “No! Papa was thinking take out or something! That is, if you weren’t up to cooking yourself…”

Stiles smiled as he fluidly and gracefully stood up. Liam’s gaze took in the man he had only known as his dad for his life. In his mind, there is and never was any other parental figure for him. He knew he wasn’t Stiles son by blood, but that mattered little to the youngest wolf. Stiles struck such a heroic visage and he was over lit by the sunshine above and the shadows profiling his frame. His bright blue eyes shone with filial adoration as Stiles bent down and cupped his face. The past few weeks with Stiles not acting like himself had taken a big emotional toll on Liam. He was very tactile and almost demanding for attention from his dad. Liam leaned into Stiles left hand and all but purred as Stiles chuckled. “I think I can whip something up. How does venison steaks and herbed mashed potatoes sound?”

“That sounds awesome!”

**Don’t I get a vote in this?**

Stiles raised an eyebrow at the black figure floating behind his son. _No you don’t, Wilson._ “Good, why don’t you run on back ahead of me before your papa decides to try and help?” Liam nodded. The little wolf stepped into to hug his dad, who returned it warmly. Wilson reached out and stroked Liam’s back, causing the little wolf to shiver slightly. It also caused Stiles to squint hard. “Off you go Liam.”

The little wolf smiled as he bounded off into the woods back towards the house. Once Stiles knew Liam was a good distance away, Stiles whipped his head to Wilson. “If you _EVER_ touch him again, I will rend you limb from limb!”

Wilson just shrugged as he tilted his head to the side. **Your threats have no merit of concern for me.**

A blood vessel was pulsing at his forehead as Stiles felt his rage rise from within. “You think I am not worth be wary of?”

**You can do nothing to me.**

Wilson floated sideways as Stiles glared intensely. With a thrust of his clawed hand, Stiles felt the flames rush towards Wilson only for it to wash through the black specter. Grinding his teeth, Stiles whipped his right arm across his chest whipped it back, feeling the earth whip up as a wave of dust rose high and crested before diving down on Wilson. Sadly, Wilson floated up and flipped 90 **°** degrees and now looked like an upside down black puppet as the tidal wave of dust passed through him and settled to the ground. **As I said, you can do nothing to me.**

The ache in his jaw from clenching it so hard began to cramp as Stiles glared at Wilson. A howl broke through Stiles’ anger. Liam. Stiles began walking towards the black figure. “Tch, this isn’t over Wilson. Not by a long shot.” Absently, Stiles whipped his an angry fist at Wilson, who floated out of the way at the last moment. Stiles took not, but continued walking in the direction of home.

It was a quarter of an hour later that found Stiles walking into the kitchen with Derek, Ethan and Liam pouring over different take out menus. He smirked as he leaned against the door as the little family scowled at the different venues. Derek was shaking his head. “You boys know Stiles hates that place.”

“But it’s one of our favorites!” Ethan whined.

Liam pushed gently at another menu. “We could get Greek food…”

Ethan groaned and threw his head back. “Li-Li, they’ve screwed up our order the last three times we’ve called them in. It’s not worth the baklava.”

“Anything is worth baklava!”

Stiles chuckled at Liam’s indignant howl, causing all three wolves to turn in his direction. Derek softly smiled. “Hey there. We were just thinking of what to order for dinner since you don’t want to cook.”

Stiles schooled his heart but he mentally flinched. “I’m fine as long as you don’t order from _there_.”

“Ok! So no Chinese!” Derek slapped the offending menu as Stiles mentally flinched again. “Sushi good for everyone?”

His pups looked excited as Derek smiled softly. Stiles felt his heart race as he looked at the loving way Derek jotted Liam’s order and then Ethan’s but clenched his stomach. “What about you Stiles? What do you want?”

Stiles shrugged. “I’ll just pick at everyone else’s. We’ve basically order Nemo and his entire school on a platter and since I’m human, it doesn’t take too much to fill me up.”

Liam clutched his heart and Ethan gasped. “DAD! Stop being P. Sherman!”

Stiles felt the war within his heart as he looked at the horrified faces on his sons’ faces and Derek’s smiling face and shaking head. “You are evil.”

Stiles smirked as he quelled his emotions. “Lucky Fin, extra wasabi!”

“AH!” Liam and Ethan clapped their hands over their ears and ran out of the kitchen.

Derek sauntered over and placed a kiss at Stiles’ neck. Stiles closed his eyes and felt the warmth of Derek’s breath and his clean-shaven chin. “So Mr. Sherman, care to come pick up dinner with me?”

Stiles felt excited as the perfect opportunity rise and present itself. “Definitely. I’m driving!”

Derek watched as Stiles grabbed his red Jeep’s keys off the key rack. He felt elated. He watched as Stiles tried to make as many overtures to repair the way things had been the last few weeks. He could tell and see the times Stiles hesitates and his heart stutters. Derek understood he was fighting back different impulses for his family’s sake and it warmed him from within.

Which is how Stiles took him by surprise ten minutes after they both hoped into the Jeep.

Stiles had been drumming on the steering wheel to some random song as Derek glanced with eyes full of adoration when Stiles stopped drumming and sighed as he turned the radio off. Derek’s eyebrows furrowed. “Stiles?” Anxiety rolled off Stiles as they pulled off to the side of the road. Stiles’ heartbeat was a rapid _staccato_ as he killed the engine and hoped out. Derek watched him walk around to his side of Jeep. “Stiles?”

“Get out, we need to talk.”

Derek got out of the car with some trepidation. The setting sun painted the sky all kinds of rosy hues, but the darkness of the night sky had Derek feeling uneasy. Walking over to Stiles, who had his arms wrapped around him, shoulders stiff and back straight, Derek was washed over by the scent of panic and fear. “Stiles?” Derek whispered as he reached out to touch the man’s shoulder.

Before Derek could register what had happened, he felt three fierce strikes to his neck, one to his sternum and two to each shoulder. An unfortunate feeling of déjà vu washed Derek over as he lost feeling in his arms and they dropped to the sides like lead. Tears welled up in his eyes as Derek felt two more strikes to his chest and two to his neck. “Stiles? Why? The pups?”

Stiles dropped back into his low stance as Derek sank to his numb legs as Stiles choked through his own sobbing and tears. “You are not my Derek and those two are not my sons.” Stiles lunged forward striking two fingers to Derek’s forehead rendering the Alpha unconcious.

**Cold hearted aren’t you?**


	15. A Blind Grasp in the Dark

Derek felt the edges of his nerves fray to no end as he scrubbed his tired face. The pack was all congregated within the Hale House tonight and tension was high. Boyd and Erica were standing near the fireplace observing their Alpha, who was seated in his chair in the corner. Jackson, Scott, and Allison were reclining on the large couch with Lydia sprawled on the lap of all three, her head resting in Jackson’s.

Liam and Ethan walked into the den, taking a seat against Derek’s legs on the ground. Ethan sighed as he leaned back. “The house is secured, papa.”

Derek huffed and felt tired down to his weary bones. “Thank you, boys.” Turning to his pack, he growled. “Report.”

Erica cleared her throat and took the plunge first. “No sightings or scents in eastern sector of the Preserve.”

Boyd nodded. “Western sector clear as well.”

Jackson spoke up next. “Northern and southern were undisturbed as well.”

Derek glanced at Scott, who nodded in confirmation. Allison piped up. “Mom, dad and I have swept the city. No traces could be found.”

Lydia snorted from her spot lounging on her packmates staring at the ceiling. “As if we were going to find anything to begin with.” A fierce growl from her Alpha had the strawberry blonde elaborating. “Let’s just think for a minute now. We have someone trying to elude us who happens to have very powerful magic at his disposal. Someone that also has a very delicate and detailed understanding of each and every one of us here.” Boyd looked as if he was about to refute, but Lydia cut him off. “Trust me, he knows you and Erica just as well as the rest of us.”

“You can’t be sure of that.” Boyd insisted.

“Oh but I can.” Lydia rolled and got up. “We’re dealing with Stiles here.” Derek, Jackson, Scott, Liam and Ethan gave her a coordinated glare. “Ok fine, _Sariel_. You still need to consider Stiles as an enemy at this point. Sariel has Stiles’ magic and all Stiles’ knowledge at his disposal. Given previous encounters, the bastard is most likely going to come at us again.”

Jackson huffed. “Bastard likes to gloat.”

“Especially if our theory turns out to be correct.”

All eyes turned to see Danny carrying a very despondent looking Isaac into the den. Jackson hopped out of his seat and Danny directed Isaac gently into the seat. The curly haired wolf looked completely wrecked. His eyes were circled with exhaustion and clouded. The Sheriff dotted on Isaac since his bond broke and changed Isaac into fresh clothes everyday although the current attire was still rumpled and wrinkled. Isaac’s gaze was still unfocused and while his mantra was silent, everyone else could read the words “Stiles” and “gone” on his lips. Danny settled himself on the armrest next to Isaac and gently caressed his head before addressing the pack. “Based on what’s happened so far and what the Druids have told us, one of you,” Danny pointed to Boyd, Erica and Derek, “are going to have their packbond broken from Stiles tonight.”

Lydia nodded at Danny. “In the light of the full moon.”

Erica shivered as she carefully cradled her arms around her baby bump. The packbonds she had with everyone already provided warm tethers that anchored her. The sense of security and strength from everyone else was a powerful comfort after living as Omegas for so long. She cherished all the bonds, tentative as they are. Boyd hugged her tighter trying to comfort his mate, scenting the stress and fear. Derek caught a whiff from Erica and turned to the two newest pack members. “We’ll still go through the Full Moon Rites with you tonight. Don’t worry. It’s the reason I asked Danny to bring Isaac here.”

Jackson cocked his head to the side. “Is that wise with what’s going on? Especially since Stiles isn’t here.”

Liam and Ethan both whined low at the mention of Stiles not being around, but felt warmth spread through them when Derek gently rubbed both their heads as he addressed Jackson. “It would be better for Stiles to be here, but,” Derek rested his elbows on his knees as hung his head while resting his hands on sons’ heads, “we need to strengthen and secure Erica and Boyd into our pack as soon as possible. Not for our sakes, but for theirs. Especially the baby’s sake and safety.”

Scott, in a rare moment of clarity and perception, saw a potential problem. “You realize Sariel will most likely come during the Rites? It would be the perfect moment for him to fuck us up.”

“I know, which is why we’re going to try and be prepared for him.”

Scott raised an eyebrow in perfect imitation of his Alpha. “How precisely do you think we’ll be able to prepare for him?”

Derek only smiled. The rest of the pack cringed.

<~~~~~>

The first thing Derek noticed was the wind. Its cool caress carried a scent of sorrow and fear that had him wrinkling his nose at the stench. Of course, the potent smell worked just as well as a smelling salt and snapped him awake. It was dark thankfully as he blinked his eyes opens so he wasn’t in pain from any blinding light. The next thing he noticed was that he couldn’t move. Derek twisted with all his strength, but his bindings didn’t move. Looking down, he could see that he was cocooned in thick, wooden roots up to his neck. Seeing the roots, only one thing came to mind. “Stiles.”

“Hello.”

Derek’s head whipped up to see Stiles across the clearing seated on a stump, his right leg drawn up in a hug with his left leg extended out. Stiles rested his chin on his right knee. There were tears on his cheeks as he looked at Derek balefully. “Stiles…”

Stiles tilted his head the other way on his knee. “I would have expected you to have something more violent to say to me at this point.”

Derek only shook his head, feeling his heart rattle in broken betrayal. “I don’t understand. Why? Why are you doing this?”

Lifting his head up and turning to his right, Stiles squinted. “You need to shut the hell up!”

Derek double blinked. “What…”

Whiskey eyes turned back to him as Stiles vaguely waved to his right. “Just disregard Wilson here. His commentary is unwelcome and unnecessary.” Derek frowned as Stiles turned to his right again and then tracked his gaze above him. “Completely unwarranted!” Stiles turned his gaze back to Derek. “You want to know why I’ve done this?”

A spark came to life in Derek’s chest. “I deserve an answer.”

Stiles shrugged his right shoulder. “Not sure how you think you deserve an answer from me after what you’ve done.”

The spark within flared to life and Derek felt anger bloom. “What I’ve done? What do you mean what I’ve done?”

Stiles squinted at Derek. “Your ignorance only further cements me knowing I’m right.”

“Right about what!?” Derek snarled as he vainly twisted in his constraints.

Stiles gestured at Derek with a spin of his hand rolling his eyes. “That you’re not really my Derek.”

“Not your Derek? What the hell are you talking about!”

“It’s not my practice to repeat myself, as you should already know, but you? You are not my Derek.”

Derek couldn’t tell how far off the deep end Stiles had fallen given the ludicrous claim that Derek apparently wasn’t Derek delivered with such poise and calm. “You’re still insane! We should never have let you out of Eichen House!”

Stiles eyebrow twitched. “I’m still insane?! All of this is insane!” Stiles’ eyebrows furrowed as he looked above him. “Don’t get technical with me, asshole!”

Derek scowls and growls. “How the hell am I suppose to take you seriously when you’re talking to nothing?!”

Stiles angrily waves off the remark. “Once again, proving my point.”

“What fucking point?!”

A deadly quiet calm settled in over the clearing as Stiles and Derek glared at each other before Stiles uncurled his right leg and let it stretch in front of him as he crossed his arms across his chest. “Let’s start with Isaac for example.”

Derek rolls his eyes and scoffs. “And who the fuck is Isaac exactly?”

Red cheeks and a clenched jaw accurately showed how pissed off Stiles was getting. “He’s my brother. My foster brother to be exact, but brother none the less.”

Derek deadpans Stiles. “Right and next you’re going to tell me we have three sons as we’re missing Aiden, Ethan’s supposed twin?”

By all indications, Derek knew that Stiles was close to blowing his gasket. The subtly ever tightening roots being the first sign, the flush of red spreading all over Stiles face the other sign. Stiles clenched his teeth so hard, Derek actually heard them creak from pressure. “That’s exactly fucking right. So let’s recap: my brother from another mother and my son are both missing.”

“There is no Isaac or Aiden! Why do you keep thinking they exist!?” Derek howled at Stiles.

Stiles reaction should have been a snappy and angry retort. That’s what Derek was expecting and what he was ready for. That wasn’t what Stiles did. The anger dropped, all color fell from his face and Stiles slouched in resignation. Derek could feel his bindings loosen a little. “Once again, point proven.”

The scent of sorrow was back and Derek could see how Stiles curled into himself again. Right leg back up and being hugged to himself as Stiles rested his chin on it, looking doleful. Derek licked his lips a moment before continuing. “Are you actually going to tell me what point you keep saying is proven?”

Stiles flicked his eyes to the left. “The real Derek would have figured it out by now, thank you very much. Stop being a distraction, Wilson.”

Derek hung his head and groaned. “And now there is a new one, should have guessed it was coming.”

Stiles slide his eyes back to Derek and was silent. Derek felt the judgment within his gaze as Stiles sucked in a breath and let it out harsh. “Derek.”

He couldn’t help keep the snark out of his response. “What, Stiles?”

Whiskey eyes blurred as tears formed. “When did you stop trusting me?”

Derek had an angry, snappy retort ready but it fell short when Stiles’ words registered. “What?”

“When did you stop trusting me?” Stiles sadly repeated.

Derek looked wide-eyed and startled. “I never stopped trusting you!”

Stiles sadly shook his head as he finally got to his feet with a flourishing wave of his hand. Derek felt the wooden roots shift and straightened so he was standing eye level with Stiles, who hugged himself. “Yes you have.” Stiles flicked his eyes to the left once again. “You’re an annoying fuck, Wilson.”

Derek felt his hackles rise. “Ok, so who is Wilson, hmm? Long lost nephew? Disappearing nanny? Personal chef from the void?”

Stiles brought his eyes back to Derek. “It’s a wonder how I didn’t realize anything was wrong before. Then again, I suppose I shouldn’t considering my own personal floating distraction.” Stiles waved vaguely to his left. “My point stands though. You are not my Derek. My Derek trusts me.”

“I do trust you!”

Stiles squinted and stock his head a bit forward. “Um, no you don’t. Trust is like the furthest thing from your mind between us two.”

Derek raged and a few wooden roots snapped, but Stiles extended his hand and closed his fist, causing new roots to sprout and wrap in place of the broken ones. “You’re the one that doesn’t trust anyone!”

Stiles glared as he tilted his head and crossed his arms. “You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means.”

“You did NOT just _Princess Bride_ me.”

“If the situation fits, why not?”

“How am I not using the word ‘trust’ correctly?”

Stiles walked up to Derek and was almost nose to nose with him. “How about trusting that I’m not insane or making up Isaac and Aiden?”

Derek snorts. “Right.”

Stiles looked into the eyes of the Alpha. “You realize, you completely brushed me off and dismissed me every time I brought up Isaac or Aiden? Never once did you actually talk to me or with me about either of them.”

Derek frowned and double blinked. “No, we’ve talked about it. There’s just no Isaac or Aiden and I’ve had to reassure you they are just figments of your imagination.”

Stiles actually laughed in his face before he back away. “You are the delusional one! Think about it! Tell me what I said! What was our conversation like, Alpha?!”

The hard edge in Stiles’ voice when he called Derek by his title rather than name sent a shiver down Derek’s spine, but Derek recalled the conversation easily. Or at least he thought he could. They had this conversation, he knows that. Talking it out was what they did together. After all their time together, why wouldn’t they have hashed things out? The part where he rationalized and explained the fact there was no Aiden or Isaac. So why couldn’t he remember when it happened?

Stiles smirked as he watched the clueless look appear on Derek’s face. “Coming up short there, buddy?”

Derek shook his head. “No, I’m sure we talked about this.”

Stiles looked to his left again. “I’m not listening to you, Wilson.” Derek flicked his eyes to the right but still, there was nothing. Stiles noticed the glance. “I’m dealing with my own personal demon it seems. Don’t mind, Wilson.”

Derek’s eyes flicked back to Stiles and genuinely worried at how Stiles didn’t consider himself nuts. “Stiles, there’s no one there.”

A weary sigh escaped Stiles lips. “You still think all these things are in my head, but you know what? I can tell this isn’t a dream.”

Stiles held up his hand and fanned his fingers. Derek was confused. “I don’t understand.”

“My hands are normal. No strange colors, no odd number of fingers, nothing. The brain has a harder time correctly manifesting the hands because of the sheer amount of nerves in it so your subconscious’ perception of them is skewed.”

“So you first inclination is that the pups and I are some sort of fake us? How does that even come up as the first thing!”

Stiles facepalmed. “Seriously? Need I remind you about the time we dealt with Oberon’s court and I ended up with green hair? Our lives never make real sense except…” Stiles trailed off and was quiet for a moment. “Except us.” Derek felt his heart clench at this point but still said nothing as Stiles went on with a harsh hitch in his voice. “You’re supposed to be a constant in my life along with the pups and the pack. When all else fails, when all else is gone, when there are but shadows, you, you’re supposed to be there for me. I’ve loved you and opened myself to you in so many ways that no one else has ever seen, ever known. I should be able to know that when I fall, even if you don’t catch me, you’ll be there to help me up and for the years we’ve been together that’s exactly what it’s been. The weight of the world was easier to share with you than me trying to do it all alone…and that’s-that’s how I know you aren’t really my Derek. My Derek? He would have believed me about Isaac and Aiden at once. Fight to assure me and the rest of the pack I wasn’t insane. He would have been freaking out more about why he didn’t remember or know of them. My Derek would have helped me look for answers.” Stiles hugged himself again and shuddered slightly before balefully glancing at Derek. “My mate would have trusted me.”

Derek felt the world fall away. The devastation within his mind blew away the remnants of defiance. Stiles was right. Why hadn’t he acted the way Stiles had said? “Stiles…I-I don’t know what’s wrong…”

Stiles sadly shook his head before he snapped it to his right. “Will you shut the hell up Wilson?!”

Stiles’ hand flicked up in a claw and suddenly, a dark figure appeared with Stiles long fingers clutched around it’s neck as the dark figure tried to pull at the iron grip. An airy wheeze of a voice filled the clearing. **What are you doing?! You shouldn’t be able to touch me!**

Derek double blinked. “Stiles…”

Whiskey eyes flicked to him but Stiles didn’t turn to Derek or loosen his grip. “What?!”

“Is-is that Wilson?”

Stiles snapped his head to Derek as his jaw dropped where as the dark figure flailed. **No! Derek should be unable to even see me!**

Derek’s eyes blew open. “Should I not be able to hear him too?”

Stiles clomped his mouth shut for a moment staring at Derek before he slowly turned his head back to the struggling dark figure. A cruel smile spread across Stiles face and Derek was glad it wasn’t directed at him. “I think things just got a whole lot more interesting don’t you, Wilson?”


	16. The Darkness and the Moon

“Holy shit!”

“What the fuck?!”

“Is it real?”

“Should I kill it?”

**NO!**

The entire pack froze and each one had eyes the size dinner plates as Stiles kept Wilson in a chokehold. He squeezed tighter and felt his dark companion squirm a bit. It was interesting to say the least. Sure he had tried to burn, impale, and crush Wilson with magic to no avail but some how, getting him in a simple submission hold worked and in a way, it was all the more satisfying when he yanked the dark figure around. Derek stood next to him and gave him a raised eyebrow and a squint. “What? Perfect position to not lose the fucker. It’s not like he needs to breath and he is weightless. I think.”

“We don’t know that for sure, Stiles, so please no killing him until we figure things out.”

Stiles rolled his eyes. “Please, like any of this is my fault. It’s everyone else’s problem.”

Derek eyes filled with pain, but nodded solemnly. “Point.”

Jackson cleared his throat. “What are you two talking about?”

Derek and Stiles shared a glance with Stiles raising an eyebrow. “I have my hands full. You talk to them.”

Scrubbing both his hands over his face, Derek address the entire pack. “We need to discuss what’s been happening over the last few weeks with Stiles.”

Scott tentatively glanced at Stiles and then back to Derek. “You want to discuss what we’ve been dealing with because of Stiles…not being right in the head?” Stiles squinted at Scott, who ducked his head. “Sorry bro.”

Derek crossed his arms and shook his head. “No, I mean we need to a talk involving Stiles and...about Isaac and Aiden.”

Lydia scoffed. “Seriously? You’re going to indulge him in his delusion that we’re missing two people from our pack?”

Allison scowled. “Didn’t we all agree it would be better for Stiles to be at Eichen House until he…saw things more clearly?”

Giving Derek a side-glance, Stiles smirked and cocked an eyebrow. Derek hung his head in shame before he looked back to Lydia and Allison before sweeping his gaze to each person in the room. “If you can tell me exactly when we had this conversation, then I will take Stiles back to Eichen House without a word.”

Lydia rolled her eyes, opened her mouth and then stopped. Clomping her mouth shut, her eyebrows furrowed together. Glancing at Jackson, she widened her eyes and double blinked. Jackson’s eyebrows came together but his eyes widened as he sucked in his lips as he tried to think as well. All around the room, similar looks of confusion came to life on everyone’s face. Erica tilted her head. “We had the conversation right? I feel like it happened, but I can’t remember when.”

Derek grimly nodded as he glanced at Stiles and Wilson. “Let me ask you all this then: do you trust Stiles?”

Jackson and Scott both scoffed immediately with Scott crossing his arms and glaring at Derek for even asking. “Of course we do. Did you forget he literally saved us from a feral Alpha?”

With a nod, Jackson also cross his arms. “And then literally hauled by bleeding carcass out of the woods?”

Boyd pulled Erica to him. “We may not have known him for as long as any of you, but why wouldn’t we trust Stiles after all he tried to do for us?”

Derek said nothing as he looked at the rest of the pack and just getting silent nods. He turned to his sons. “What about you pups?”

Liam double blinked and cocked his head at Derek, as if seeing a depth of stupid he had never noticed before. “He’s our _Tato_.” Liam turned to Ethan, who just nodded. That simple declaration was simple enough.

The creak of his leather jacket as Derek uncrossed his arms broke the steady silence that had settled on the pack as they sat about the den. “So why did none of us believe him when he mentioned Isaac or Aiden? We all completely brushed away his concerns without a second thought. Tell me again,” Derek swallowed the knot in his throat as his voice dropped to a harsh whisper, “how you all trust Stiles.”

Stiles watched each and every face flicker at the thought and connection. He pulled harder on the arm around Wilson’s neck…or at least what he assumed was his neck. “See that? My pack isn’t as stupid as you kept saying.”

The dark figure jerked his head back as he continued to pry Stiles’ iron arms away. **They were easy to manipulate enough. Even your sons fell for my lies.**

Four pairs of golden yellow and two pairs of cool blue eyes flashed as six growls began to _crescendo_ as well as fangs and claws that began to spring about. A fierce roar and a flash of crimson red eyes had all six other wolves backing down. “Enough! Save your posturing for later. We’re dealing with this now!”

**As if I fear the likes of you wolves.**

Stiles smirked and yanked hard on the dark figure’s neck. “You didn’t think I could touch you or that they could even hear or see you. How about we find out if there is anything else. Derek?” The Alpha smiled with pointy teeth before he flipped his claws and rent a vicious swip at Wilson’s body, rending an unearthly screech from the dark figure while Stiles clamped on the chokehold to keep the flailing body from escaping. “HOW’S THAT YOU FUCKER?!”

Wilson twisted and wailed, but Stiles only held tighter. Scott approached with both his claws set. “Let me have him Stiles. I can take him for you.”

“No Scott. Derek only sensed him since I touched him. I’m not running the chance that as soon as he’s out of my grasp, he won’t just float away like a ghost.”

Struggling like a child in the arms of an adult, Wilson tried to kick at Stiles, but to no avail. **I will not be held captive for long! My role to play is almost done in the masquerade!**

Derek leapt at Wilson and dug his claws into the dark figure’s chest causing the creature to once again shriek as it grabbed at Derek’s arm. “What role?! What have you been doing? Where are Aiden and Isaac?”

Wilson’s head twisted back and forth as Stiles now truly struggled with holding on to the black apparition. The rest of the pack noticed and began to surge forward. “Zamrażać! Wycofać się!” As one, the pack took a step back, but everyone looked ready to raise a little Hell if need be.

It was at this moment that Stiles realized something was wrong. He noticed Wilson’s grasp on Derek’s arm wasn’t making any efforts to yank the Alpha’s claws out of it’s chest. If anything, it looked liked Wilson was trying to pull… “Oh shit! Derek let go! LET GO RIGHT NOW!”

Crimson red eyes flickered out as Derek glanced at Stiles. “What?” Stiles didn’t waste a moment and tried to side kick Derek in the stomach which only left the Alpha doubled over and winded as the clawed hand was being held tightly to Wilson’s chest. Derek gasped and turned watery eyes at Stiles. “The fuck!?”

Stiles refused to look at Derek but gritted his teeth and furiously tried to choke Wilson. “LET HIM GO WILSON! YOU AREN’T GETTING HIM LIKE ISAAC OR AIDEN!!”

Jackson, Scott, Liam and Ethan sprang to Derek and grabbed his legs and arms and attempted to pull him away but to no avail. Derek watched in horror as his hand began to sink into the dark mass of Wilson’s body. **My last task might as well be now! The timing could be better but this is just fine! I will take the last bond to your wolves!**

“NO!” Stiles wailed as he tried to pull Wilson away from Derek as the rest of the pack pulled on Derek.

Derek for his part tried to slash at Wilson with his free hand only for it to be stuck as well. Up to his elbows into Wilson’s chest, Derek kicked off the rest of the pack. “Don’t get sucked in with me!”

Liam and Ethan almost lunged at Derek again, but Boyd and Jackson both grabbed the pups. “PAPA!”

Arching his back as far as he could, Derek felt himself sinking further as he was chest to chest with Wilson who had grabbed him by the shoulders and dragged him in deeper despite Stiles’ attempts to wrench them apart. **You will not be free! Isaac struggled, Aiden as well but to no avail. Behold the darkness!**

Stiles’ eyes met Derek’s and saw nothing but wide-eyed fear. “No! Don’t you fucking give up on me Derek! You fight and you fight your damnedest!”

Dark tendrils began to lash onto Derek as he was now shoulder deep while he craned his head away in an ultimately futile attempt at escape. Tears feel from the Alpha’s eyes as his chin sank into the dark. His eyes locked onto Stiles one last time before he could sob out, “I’m sorry I didn’t have faith in you, Stiles.”

Derek heard a distant “ _NO!_ ” before the darkness consumed him.

~~~~~

The water lapped at his bare feet as Derek stood at the edge of the lake. The clear night sky held few stars as the full moon flooded the beach with it’s strong light. Derek’s wolf within could feel the tug but he reined it in easily. Tonight was important and Derek knew that Stiles would have ordered him to get this done properly. Scratching at his scruffy cheek once more, turned when he heard soft footfalls approaching him from behind. Allison was dressed similarly to him. Barefoot, a loose linen hem-less white shirt that ended half way down her forearms, and white linen pants that ended half way down her calves. A white _triskele_ was painted on her right cheek. She bowed her head gently to Derek. “Alpha, everyone has gathered.”

Derek huffed. “Not everyone. We’re still missing a guest to show up.”

Allison steeled herself. “He’ll show. I’m sure of it.”

Shaking his head, Derek gently shooed her away. “It’s fine, go back to Scott and we can get started.”

Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes for a moment to steel himself, Derek turned around and looked at the rest of the pack around, all dressed as he was. Danny and Isaac stood to his right, where Danny held up his listless mate and hugged him close. Ethan and Liam held on to a growling Aiden as they were seated not to far off from where Danny and Isaac sat. Lydia and Jackson stood to his left, Jackson gently resting his hands on her shoulders. Standing off to just onside of the Jackson and Lydia, Scott held a hand out to his wife as she walked back to him. In the middle of the group stood Erica and Boyd.

The excitement and nervousness was filling the air. Derek could smell the excitement from Erica and nervousness from Boyd. He smiled gently at the pair as Erica gently cradling her stomach. Taking a step forward, Derek spread his arms out wide. “I welcome you to Beacon Hills as part of the Alpha Pair. Mother Moon has shown her face and will witness you’re commitment and vows this night to the Hale Pack.”

Erica and Boyd both bowed their heads and spoke in unison. “By my will and wish, by your consent and conscious, by Mother Moon’s singing and silence, if the Hale Pack has a place for me, let me find rest near your hearth.”

Jackson stepped forward with Lydia and together they addressed Erica and Boyd who had turned to them. “We offer the warmth of our homes to you.”

Erica and Boyd looked to Derek once more. “By my will and wish, by your consent and conscious, by Mother Moon’s singing and silence, if the Hale Pack has a place for me, grant me water from your well.”

Scott and Allison stepped forward this time. “We offer the relief of our stores to you.”

Once more, Erica and Boyd turned back to Derek after receiving their answer from the pack. “By my will and wish, by your consent and conscious, by Mother Moon’s singing and silence, if the Hale Pack has a place for me, save me from the loneliness.”

Danny and, with some coaxing, Isaac spoke together. “We offer the love of our family to you.”

The Omegas turned one last time to the Alpha. “By my will and wish, by your consent and conscious, by Mother Moon’s singing and silence, if the Hale Pack has a place for me, let me come home.”

Derek retrieved a small jar near his feet and gently padded his way to Erica and Boyd. Opening the jar, Derek dipped his finger in it and gently painted a _triskele_ on Erica’s right cheek and then did Boyd as well. Taking a step back, Derek set the jar on the ground again. “The _Triskellion_ is seen in cultures the world over, but it is fitting to acknowledge one of the meanings here. Some Native American Tribes use the _triskele_ as a symbol of warriors returning home. No longer Omega, you are Beta. Tonight, I, Alpha Derek Hale, welcome you to our Pack.”

Derek threw his head back and let loose a powerful howl, which was echoed by all the wolves on the beach. Erica was the first to stop her howl as she sobbed, Boyd following suit soon after to comfort her. “Oh by the Moon, I can feel it. The packbonds are-are so powerful. We’re finally-FINALLY with a pack! We’re safe!”

A slow clap reverberated through the woods and had everyone turning. Materializing from the shadows, a lithe but strong looking man with a shock of brown hair, a smattering of moles and blank, pale eyes made his way to stand at the edge of the beach clearing with a twisted smirk on his face. Sariel looked around. “Did I miss the party?”

Ethan and Liam felt Aiden almost surge to his feet before they pinned him down again as Derek moved forward. “You. You will not ruin this joyous-AHHH!!!!!” Derek clutched at his heart and toppled over while roaring out in searing pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **“Zamrażać! Wycofać się!”** = Freeze! Stand down!


	17. Carpe Noctem, et Vitae

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol You're in for a surprise and no, it's not another horrible cliff hanger.

The pack sat around shell-shocked as Wilson seemed to gain more substance, felt more sensible, became more _real_ in Stiles’ arms. Wilson had a face now, or at least something that could be construed as a face. Where there once was nothing but a shapeless orb for a head, there now stood out jagged triangles of a dark purple color color for eyes and a cracked jack-o-lantern’s grin. The bleary shadow that composed his body now had an inky darkness to its hue.

Face red with rage, Stiles wrenched his arms as tight as he could around Wilson’s neck as tears streaked his cheeks. “GIVE HIM BACK!”

With a strange sense of horror, Wilson didn’t fidget or fight back when Stiles applied more pressure to the hold. Wilson’s head spun 180° around and leered at Stiles before he sank his teeth into Stiles’ neck with jagged phantom fangs. A scream tore from Stiles and he reflexively released Wilson from his hold. Holding his left hand to his bleeding neck, Stiles leapt back from Wilson who adjusted his body and limbs. Peering at his fingers, Wilson cocked his head to the side. **Strange. This is not what I was told would happen on taking the third bond from you.**

Crouching in a defensive pose while still holding his bleeding neck, Stiles snapped. “Fuck that! Tell me what you did!”

Wilson turned his gaze to Stiles. **I have taken your packbonds and now I channel and use the powerful magic behind them. Although this last bond feels different, it’s not the same as the first two.**

Stiles squinted. “You have access to my magic?”

Wilson tilted his head to the left as he spread his arms. **Arrogant. As if your paltry magic was worth all this.**

“All this? You mean messing with my life and everyone elses?!”

**You do not see the truth of your prison which makes it all the more secure.**

Stiles gritted his teeth in frustration. Willing a touch of fire into his hand, Stiles seared the bloody holes in his neck. “GRAAAAHHHH!!!! Motherfucker that hurt!” Pulling his hand away, the smell of burnt flesh and coppery blood permeated from his hand and the hand shaped mark on his neck. Stiles shifted into a more aggressive Tiger stance. “I think it’s time, I should just beat the crap out of you now and figure out how to save Isaac, Aiden and Derek after.”

Throwing his head back, Wilson let out what Stiles assumed was some sort of laugh. The noise got under Stiles’ skin but it was the attitude that grated on Stiles’ nerves. Surging forward, Stiles aimed his clawed right hand for Wilson’s face who quickly tilted his head to the side and let the hand sail past. Quickly twisting his wrist, Stiles tried to rake Wilson’s head off. Bending like a reed in the wind, Wilson once again dodged Stiles and deftly followed up with a quick whip of his right hand, trying to cold cock Stiles in the jaw. Being blinded by and his thinking clouded by rage, Stiles’ head snapped to the side as Wilson’s fist acquainted itself with the left side of Stiles’ jaw. Stumbling backwards, Stiles got back into a stance and spat out blood, glaring as Wilson seemed to loom in front of him. **You are rather disappointing to fight. I was told to expect a more formidable foe.**

<~~~~~>

The pain. The sheer agonizing pain in his chest was almost all he could focus on. It burned, it bled, it shocked. A metric ton of icy needles bathed in coals being dropped on him could be the only way he could somehow describe the agony. Derek felt his claws sink into his own chest as he clutched at his heart as he writhered on the ground. He hissed through his fangs and clenched his eyes but was vaguely aware of the three small pairs of hands lifting him up onto his own feet. A moment later, he felt only one pair holding him up while leaning heavily on a shoulder. “ _Papa_.” The soft call brought him out of his crucible of pain and had Liam’s soft blue eyes looking into his watery green eyes. The pain was almost blinding, but he focused and looked around. Ethan and Aiden flanked him to the left, Ethan holding onto the still fairly feral Aiden, but still on alert. Erica and Boyd stood to his right, both with golden yellows eyes and fangs flashing, facing forward. Scott and Jackson stood in front of their Alpha, poised to strike and spring into action. What was interesting was the sight across the clearing.

Derek had expected the Fallen Archangel to be flying and taunting them. Mocking them with the voice and face of their beloved Stiles and yet, Sariel rolled and twisted on the ground while shrieking and clutching at his own chest obviously in stark raving pain. Focusing within, Derek warily tried to touch his bond with Stiles. “RAH!!” Derek doubled over in pain and would have fallen had Liam not held him up.

“Papa!” Liam’s soft, panicked voiced brought him back to the surface on the blackening pain.

A soft chuckled escaped Derek’s lips as a little blood dripped from his mouth. “I can still feel Stiles.”

The pack around him flinched in surprise, but a shrill scream caught their attention. Sariel was pushing himself up with one hand while his other hand almost dug into his own chest, the gleam of sweat shined with moonlight. “YOU! WHAT DID YOU DO!?” Jackson and Scott roared back in challenge. Sariel was huffing with breath when he tried to flick his wrist at them. All that surmounted was to send a twig bouncing off Scott’s forehead. Needless to say, both wolves were confused at the fallen Archangel’s response. Or rather the lack thereof. “GRRAAAH!! Fine! I can at least do this!” Sariel slammed a fist to the ground.

A familiar sound rumbled along the beach and echoed in the forest, which preceded the sound of a very loud vacuum bubble popping. Jackson glared at the cracks forming around Sariel in the dirt. An eruption of dirt had everyone shielding their faces from debris but as the dust settled (literally) there stood not one, but _three_ of the _Nephilim_ around the fallen Archangel. Jackson snorted. “For fuck sake, seriously? Three of those damn assholes?”

“Not just them,” Sariel snarled. With a slight twist of his hand, shadows began to congeal around Sariel. Inky black pools spun in mesmerizing vortexes before they began to bubble. Slowly, six dark figures rose from the darkness. “Let’s see how you deal with a few Shades as well.”

Erica snarled beside Derek. “Shades?! They should be invisible!”

Derek hissed through his clenched teeth. “Forget the rules for now and deal with what’s in front of you. Liam, give me to Erica.”

The scent of anxiety and fear washed over Derek and had him gasping as Liam clenched tighter to Derek. “No papa!”

Derek’s breathing was labored from the pain as he stared down his son. “Liam, I need you to defend the pack for me. I can’t do it so I need you all to fight.”

Shaking his head vigorously, Liam’s hand clenched tighter to Derek’s white linen shirt. “But what about Erica! She’s older and stronger! She can fight!”

<~~~~~>

Stiles said nothing as he shifted from a Tiger to a Snake stance. The pain in his jaw radiated into his skull but it brought him back to his senses and with it, his wit and cunning. Wilson seemed to take notice and eased back into a stance as well.

Calculating in his head, Stiles tried to think about the situation a bit more analytically. He had watched Derek getting sucked into Wilson’s body and yet there wasn’t any type of distortion or disfiguration oh holding Derek’s body within. Stiles assumes that Isaac and Aiden could very well be within Wilson’s body as well, if he was the one that took his brother and son away and not some other dark entity. Of course, it would be his luck that there would end up being more than one dark entity holding a loved one hostage.

Advancing slowly, Stiles stepped to the right in a smooth stride as he began to circle Wilson. The black figure before him mirrored his direction although not his movement. Wilson stood tall and haughty as he paced in time with Stiles. They circled each other slowly; two sharks in a tank, two hawks in the sky, two wolves in the woods. There was nothing but the enemy in front of the other. An opponent that needed to be taken down and dealt with. To rend and subdue. To conquer.

Stiles could feel the tension mounting as sinister purple eyes fixed upon him, unblinking and intense. He willed his shoulders and arms to relax, but the tension coiled up and twisted likes ropes along his entire torso. Clenching his teeth and lips tight, Stiles felt a trickle of sweat slide down his spin, feeling the stiffness of his own movements as he continued to glare at Wilson.

The dark figure in front of him had been a constant presence for some time now and Stiles realized that some how, he was responsible for everything. Aiden and Isaac, the paranoia, the fear, the doubt, Wilson has some tie to being responsible and now. Now was when he would beat the tar out of him and get answers.

Stiles surged forward as ferocious roar tore through the front yard and echoed into the surrounding trees. Stiles tripped over himself, trying to not fall over as Wilson had his face pinned to the ground as by a flurry of blonde curls and a solid wall of muscle. **What?! This shouldn’t be possible! Get off me!**

Stiles felt his eyebrows scrunched together as Boyd cricked his neck while Erica tossed her head to flip her hair out of her face and winked up to him. “Erica? You can see him?!”

The blond shrugged with one shoulder before grunting and shoving Wilson back into the ground as he tried to get up. “Sorry Stiles but we all we’re sorta reeling from seeing our Alpha get sucked into-uh, this guy?”

Eyes blown wide, Stiles looked up noticed the rest of the pack all giving him looks of shock, confusion, and anger. Whipping his hand up and pointing at his sons, Stiles squeaked and flailed. “You remember Derek?!”

Liam and Ethan scrunched their noses, furrowed their eyebrows and double blinked as they turned to look at each other before Ethan turned back to Stiles. “We literally just saw papa get eaten by the blob over there. How could we miss that exactly, dad?”

Stiles smirked. “I have been trying to convince you all that there are two other people in this pack for a few weeks now and you all have repeatedly brushed me off on it while dealing with my own personal demon. Forgive the suspicious attitude.”

Turning to Erica and Boyd, Stiles hooked a finger and raised it up. Both Omegas hauled a struggling Wilson upright with Erica sinking her claws into Wilson’s neck and forcing him to look forward at Stiles. **None of this should be possible!**

Stiles snorted before he viciously took a cheap shot Wilson’s kidneys. At least where there would be kidneys presuming that the dark figure shared the same biology. Seriously, it wasn’t his fault he didn’t sign up for demonic bio! There was some satisfaction regardless as Wilson wheezed and clutched forward a bit had it not been for Erica digging her claws into his neck even deeper as Boyd growled into Wilson’s jugular, a whisper of his fangs across the dark skin. Stiles crouched in front of Wilson and met the demonic face once again. “Dealing with me? Anything is possible. Screwing around with me and mine?” Stiles focused his magic and will to it’s barest form and gently laid a hand on Wilson’s chest. On contact, blue white lines began to creep away from causing the dark figure to scream in pain. “I _finish_ fights that others start.” Stiles heard shuffling and peered over his right shoulder. Scott and Jackson had their fangs out, claws spread and eyes golden yellow where over his left, Liam and Ethan stood just as ready, just as perilous. Stiles turned back to face Wilson and caught Allison with her silver daggers at the ready, flanked by Lydia and Danny both scowling. “You should not have tried to tangle with my pack. You really shouldn’t have.” The blue white lines began to spider about Wilson’s chest and Wilson’s screams only grew and grew in intensity but still, he couldn’t escape the clutches of Erica and Boyd. Stiles’ eyes flashed with a white light. “I bet you’re wondering what I’m doing to you right now.”

Scott snorted behind him. “Was actually wondering that myself.”

“Shut up, Uncle Scott! Dad’s being a badass! Don’t ruin the moment!”

“Sorry, Ethan.”

Stiles looked over his shoulder and quirked an eyebrow.

<~~~~~>

With a monumental amount of effort, Derek raised his hand to cover Erica’s stomach. “But the baby can’t.” Erica and Boyd both felt their throats tighten at the level of concern Derek was already giving their unborn child. Liam’s watery eyes instantly hardened and his shivering limbs steeled so Derek pressed on. “I never treat you or your brothers like a pup when it comes to fighting because I know what you can do. I trust what Stiles has taught you.” Standing slightly straighter and setting his lips in a firm line, Liam passed Derek to Erica, who wordlessly accepted the dead weight wolf.

Liam took a solid step forward and dropped down into an aggressive stance, left foot planted behind him while crouching with his right knee, balanced on the balls of his feet as he crossed his hands in front of him. Ethan was in a similar position while still holding onto a feral Aiden as Boyd came up and crouched between the two young wolves. Jackson stood to Liam’s right side where as Scott stood to the left of Ethan. Derek weakly grinned, feeling sweat trickle down his face in an effort to stay conscious as he observed the solid defensive line in front of him.

Across the way, Sariel breathlessly cackled as he attempted to get up only for his arm to lose strength and he toppled over. Still, the fallen Archangel glared at the pack. “Mangy mutts, you’re basically outnumbered even with the Huntress behind your wolf line two to one! You’re all dead!”

Raising an outstretched hand, Sariel screamed. The _Nephilim_ all roared and Derek felt the concussive force of their voice and could even slightly hear the beasts, but strangely, it was rather muted. The three _Nephilim_ began to advance with two shades falling in stride behind them. The wolves all tensed and knew they were in for a fight for their lives.

Lydia spoke up from where she, Danny, Allison, and a listless Isaac hung in the back near the beach. “Oh Alpha mine, you wouldn’t happen to have some sort of plan in place, would you? You said you were prepared for tonight!”

Jackson cocked his head to the side and looked over his shoulder. “What’s that I hear coming from the lake?”

Derek turned his head and weakly chuckled as a deep grumbling preceded the water bulging up before the water breached from below as a monstrous and sinuous black, green and brown body came into view. The body, at its thickest was as large a school bus but easily twice as long, swayed as it made it’s way onto the beach. A ferocious reptilian head balefully eyed the pack before it swiveled its head to the fallen Archangel, the _Nephilim,_ and the Shades. The pack looked stunned where as Sariel was confused.

The crunching of boots upon the rocks and sand had everyone looking farther up the beach. Erica felt her eyes blow open. “No way…”

Derek felt a smirk on his lips. “You’re late.”

The Coyote shrugged his shoulders and pointed at the knucker. “You try lugging his scaly ass around and see if you make it anywhere on time.”


	18. The Problem with Knots

It was surprisingly quick. Derek had to blink a few times to register the fact that the knucker had lumbered onto the beach completely and had whipped its tail in a massive sweeping blow scattering the _Nephilim_ and the shades all around the beach. It turned an eye to where Erica was holding up Derek and smirked in their direction. Erica blanked out for a moment. Did the giant British water dragon from Canada really just smirk at her and Derek?

Sariel had plastered himself into the ground, feeling the wind wake wash over his back. Covered in sweat and random pieces of dirt, Sariel pushed himself up as he sneered at The Coyote. “You! Wretched! Piece of trash!”

The Coyote raised an eyebrow at the Fallen Archangel. “Like you’re one to talk. Out of time-out before the egg timer went _ding_?”

Derek looked to his pack all poised to attack as the Shades and _Nephilim_ staggered up from being smacked around by the knucker. “Scott, take command…I can’t coordinate.” Derek hissed through his fangs as a burst of throbbing pain pulsed through his body from the center of his chest. Erica caught him as the Alpha slumped in pain.

The crooked jaw beta nodded and growled. “Jackson and Liam, Boyd and Ethan, take out one of the giant fuckers together. I’ll try and distract the last one with Allison and Lydia providing support until we can regroup and finish the last one.”

Jackson glanced at Scott. “What about the Shades?”

A deep rumbling voice rolled through everyone and vibrated down to their toes. “I shall deal with the undead abominations. Do no concern yourself.” All eyes, including even Sariel’s looked at The Coyote who pointed at the knucker. The knucker seemed to notice the stares. “Perhaps you would prefer I refrain from helping even after Alpha Hale had sent for the likes of us?”

Boyd gaped a moment. “You can talk?!”

The knucker rolled his eyes as he whipped his tail up and down to slam into one of the Shades that had gotten up. “Plebeians.”

The Coyote chuckled. “They’re young. Don’t hold it against them.”

“Indeed.”

Jackson snorted. “Less chatting bout the talking dragon, more ripping apart the douchebags in front of us.” The knucker smashed another Shade into the ground with its tail, where the Shade lay twitching. “Smashing works too.”

Sariel snarled and whipped his hand up only for The Coyote to match his movements. Seeing the enraged glare from the Fallen Angel, The Coyote smirked. “No aide from nature this time.

The pack leapt into action at this point. Ethan had passed his feral twin to Erica to hold onto as well as his invalid of a papa before he joined Boyd in his assault on the giant monstrosity. Ethan darted to the right as Boyd went left. The _Nephilim_ turned to face the young wolf as his cool blue eyes shined in the dark. He quickly began to beckon the monster forward. “Come on! Come on! Come and get it you fucker!”

Raising its massive fist, the _Nephilim_ slammed its fist into the ground narrowly missing Ethan as he danced backwards. A concussive, but squeaky roar from the dripping maw of the _Nephilim_ toppled Ethan over who tucked and rolled allowing the force to flow over him. With a spring, the young wolf landed in a crouch and roared back his own challenge, still distracting the monster and Boyd crept up from behind.

The burly Beta crouched and then leapt onto the _Nephilim’s_ back as he sank his rather large claws into what he was guessing was the shoulder or neck of the beast. The black monstrosity threw its head back in pain and uselessly tried to reach Boyd, but those hideously strong arms were not that flexible. Ethan used the moment with the _Nephilim_ being distracted by Boyd to glance over to the rest of the clearing.

Liam and Uncle Jackson were bounding around the _Nephilim_ with a gymnast’s ease, confusing it and not allowing for a single strike all the while slashing at exposed flesh here and there.

Uncle Scott actually faced the monster head on as he caught the massive fist that had tried to pile drive him into the ground (granted Ethan did watch his uncle sag a moment) before using both hands to throw the arm back causing the black monstrosity to teeter. Let it never be said that while his crooked jaw Uncle may be a bit tracker, he was far from the weakest. The explosive sound of shotgun shell momentarily preceded the _Nephilim_ in front of his Uncle to suddenly land on its back. Uncle Scott roared in defiance as the creature sat up while he noticed Aunt Allison loading her shotgun. The _Nephilim_ was sluggish from being wounded, but still fast enough that Uncle Scott missed the fact its hulking tail slammed him sideways, crashing into a tree and momentarily dazed as the hulking nightmare lumbered to his Uncle.

“SCOTT!” Allison cried as she pointed her shotgun at the monsters back only to flinch when a familiar roar erupted from behind her as a unholy screeched rent from Sariel’s lips to the side of her. She whipped her head backwards just in time to see a flash of blonde curls pass her eyes. She whipped her eyes forward in time to see a missile kick fly right into the monster’s side sending it flying. Landing in a crouch near Scott, golden yellow eyes flashing, fangs bared, roaring at the _Nephilim_ in challenge, another wolf had joined the fray that left Allison momentarily breathless. “ _Isaac_.”

<~~~~~>

Wilson’s screamed and twisted in the iron clamps of Erica’s and Boyd’s claws as Stiles glared at the blue white cracks flowing across the black figure’s body from his right palm with his flashing white eyes. When a particular spasm rattled Wilson’s body, Stiles punched him with his free left hand. “Stop twitching.”

**AAAHHHHH!!!!!!!**

“Yeah, yeah. This shouldn’t be possible, blah, blah, blah.” Stiles sends a surge of power through his right hand causing the black figure to wail even more so. “You big baby.” The blue white cracks traveled along the surface of Wilson’s body began to congregate and concentrate near his right side. Stiles focused his gaze intently there and slide his palm towards the spot.

**STOP THIS! YOU CAN’T!**

Jackson snorted. “Oh please, that’s the last thing you tell Stiles. _He can’t_. I don’t know how often that was served back to someone with a lot of crow.”

Stiles chuckled mirthlessly as he pressed his palm into the surface of the black skin where there was a strong congregation of the blue white cracks. His hunting instinct told him this was where he would find what he was seeking. The pack around waited with held breath as Stiles took a breath and began slowly push his right hand into Wilson’s body. Blue white light flashed around the edges of Stiles hand as Wilson convulsed in pain. Stiles ignored the inhuman screeching as his hand suddenly disappeared in a pool of the blue white light up to his wrist. The pack around gasped but Stiles held up a finger and everyone stilled once more.

Closing his eyes, Stiles let his senses and mind wander through his _qi_ as he whispered softly, “My magic and strength all rely in my ability to read and manipulate the _qi_ around me. I can also disrupt another person’s _qi_ flow, which is how I can paralyze parts of the body or knock people out with certain strikes. This is a little bit like-Ah ha!” Stiles flipped his eyes open and shined blindingly as he sank up to his bicep into the blue white light. Wilson’s head flailed screaming and wailing in pain. Boyd and Erica began to sweat from holding on to the black figure.

Stiles twisted slowly, pulling his right shoulder back and slowly pulling his arm out. Sweat beaded on his forehead as Stiles focused his white eyes at the blue white hole his arm was in. Centimeter by centimeter, Stiles’ right arm came free but it wasn’t empty. A large pale hand emerged wrapped in Stiles’ grasp with black tendrils desperately clinging to it. “Jackson, Scott, help me.”

Both wolves jumped at began to carefully pull on the hand that soon became an arm. Wilson frantically thrashed in Erica and Boyd’s grasp before the she-wolf yanked him close and gave him a vicious headbutt, stilling the form in their grasp. Boyd looked at his mate who just shrugged. “What? It worked didn’t it?”

Before Boyd could respond, Stiles, Jackson and Scott growled in unison and effort as a blonde curly haired head emerged from within the hole. The black tendrils were bigger now and didn’t snap as easily as the group continued to pull. Stiles hissed low, “Liam, Ethan, cut him free.”

The younger wolves carefully used their claws to snap at the black binds and soon a large unconscious torso appeared. Stiles grabbed at the other free hand and with a concerted effort from everyone around yanked Isaac free. Lydia, Danny and Allison quickly and gently hauled Isaac up from where he had fallen on top of Stiles, Jackson and Scott. Erica and Boyd looked surprised where as everyone else looked stunned. Liam gently placed a hand on the pale, unconscious face as his eyes filled with tears and his breath hitched. “Uncle Isaac…I remember…I remember everything with him now!”

All around, the pack all had varying degrees of shock. Danny especially looked shattered as he slowly made his way to Isaac and embraced his mate. Stiles smirked as the white light faded slightly from his eyes. “One down, two to go.”

<~~~~~>

Sariel’s spectral wings beat against the ground kicking up debris and dust as he felt the liquid acid trace along his back along the _triquetra’s_ bottom left half while he arched his back, bowing himself off the ground, screaming himself hoarse. The power, the magnificent magic, the unyielding strength that had been flowing deeply into him had been cut off and it was jarring. Rolling over on to his stomach so as not to touch the tenderness on his back, Sariel glared at Derek as he frothed at the mouth in fury. “What have you done to me! There should be nothing that you can do to stop me!”

Lydia snorted as she hid safely behind the Huntress who leveled her shotgun at the Fallen Angel. “Like we had anything to do with your spazzing out.”

Wickedly, Sariel flung his arm up in another attempt at have the earth spear his query through only to have The Coyote mirror his movements and seemingly cancel out the effect. The Coyote grinned. “Fiddle as much as you want, the spirits won’t listen to you with me around.”

The Fallen Archangel bellowed in rage, the veins and muscles in his neck bulging as he haphazardly struggled to stand up only to fall once more on shaky legs as the knucker stomped another Shade into the ground. Keeping a careful eye on the humans as well as Erica holding back a snarling Aiden and a pale Derek, The Coyote glanced over to watch the revitalized Isaac watching as the wolf weaved around the _Nephilim_ ’s reach while delivering wicked slashes to monstrous beast while Scott pummeled the creature with his own fists. The Coyote sneered at Sariel. “Looks like the game isn’t going your way, is it?”

Hair plastered to his skull as sweat dribbled down his face, Sariel glared back from his pale eyes and the black spidery veins spreading across his face. “You did this! I know you had a hand in it! There’s no other explanation to – AAAAHHHH!!!!” Sariel began thrashing around like a fish out of water all the while screaming until blood began to drool out of his mouth as he uselessly tried to reach around to his back.

Erica was so focused on the Fallen Angel she failed to notice the sudden lack of tension her hand. She felt a tap on her shoulder. “Erica, can you let me go please?” Whipping her head to the side, Erica felt her eyes blow wide open as Aiden double blinked at the she-wolf. Wiping his forearm across his mouth, Aiden glanced at Derek, who was spitting out Erica’s blond curls that she whipped into his face.   “Is there something on my face, Papa?” Derek smirked but clutched at his heart and hissed in pain still. “Papa!” Aiden managed to jerk his arm free from Erica’s listless fingers and carefully examined his Alpha.

Derek opened one eye as he winced in pain and slowly pointed to the _Nephilim_ being handled by Liam and Jackson. “Aiden,  Zaatakować.”

The young wolf turned at his papa’s command and leapt into battle, joining a rather stunned Jackson and a grinning Liam.

“THAT’S IT! I’LL DEAL WITH THIS SHIT MYSELF!” Sariel cried as he sat back on his heels after recovering from his lastest seizure. The Coyote must have sensed something as he tried to advance on the Fallen Archangel. Derek could see the quick snap of the spectral wings knocking The Coyote into the air and landing in the lake some distance away. Sariel snarled at the stationary pack members with bloody gums and pink teeth before a black purple light began to shine from his eyes. The pack not fighting reflexively shielded their eyes as it filled the clearing.

<~~~~~>

Stiles panted as Ethan cradled his unconscious twin on the ground next to where Danny had Isaac’s head in his lap.

Lydia’s eyes were blown wide. “Holy shit. All this time it’s been like they were never in my mind at all. What kind of spell is this?!”

Stiles felt his head flop backwards as he sucked in ragged breaths. “Lyds, I love your inquisitive mind at times, but now is so not one of them. Less pondering, more dissecting.”

The feisty woman simply rolled her eyes, but focused on the shriveled and shivering form of Wilson, still being held captive by Erica and Boyd. Stiles smirked and panted as the white light from his eyes began to dull. “Not so tough now are you Wilson?”

“No, but I should be enough for you.”

The pack turned to the sound of a familiar and yet not familiar voice. Standing in the clearing was a lean well-muscled man. He was barefoot and naked from the waist up. His skin was clammy pale with eyes that matched although they were framed by black spidery veins. A pert up turned nose sat above a bloody mouth and pink teeth all topped off with a mess of brown hair. Liam looked confused at the strangely familiar face. “Dad?”

Wilson shuddered in Erica and Boyd’s grasp as he shrank in on himself. **Master Sariel.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Zaatakować** = Attack.


	19. "The excellency of every art is its intensity." - John Keats

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies to my faithful readers! I know I am way late on this update and I am sorry but I got a last minute call (literally the night before a shoot) to work on a Hollywood movie and it has been crazy non-stop 12 hour production days for a while. Today has been my first day off in a while so I finished this chapter for you guys!

Liam blinked at his dad’s doppelganger jauntily walked towards the pack. In a way, it was like looking in a mirror. Liam could make out the moles on his face, the messy way his hair was kept, a strong lithe frame his dad worked hard to maintain and yet, there were stark differences. His posture and stride were bent, broken and ridged. The foreign sneer and cold glare. Liam’s senses warred with his mind as he tried to understand what was going on.

“Well aren’t you handsome.” Apparently his dad was going to snark his way through this. Liam rolled his eyes as Stiles smirked. “Most definitely hawt stuff. Am I right, pups?”

Ethan face-palmed. “Dad, please stop checking out your evil twin.”

“When you’ve got it, flaunt it.”

An eyebrow twitched on the evil twin’s face. “Enough!” The evil twin pointed at Wilson between Erica and Boyd. “You! How have you screwed this all up!?”

**Master Sariel, I have done as you asked and instructed. I had taken and diverted the magic from the packbonds.**

Sariel snarled. “Then why are Isaac and Aiden lying there!”

Stiles stuck a hand up and smirked. “Oh sorry, my fault. Your evil plot? Yeah I kinda messed that up. Sorry bro.”

“You shouldn’t have even realized anything was going on! This celestial sphere should have rendered you completely unaware of anything else!”

Stiles scoffed. “Please, like I wouldn’t have noticed my pack going missing.” Stiles stopped talking as he realized what Sariel had said. “Did you say I’m in a celestial sphere?” Gritting his bloody gums and pink teeth, Sariel thrust a clawed hand at the unconscious wolves. The earth in the clearing erupted in a jagged line of stone spires that quickly approached Isaac and Aiden. Stiles whipped a hand in perpendicular path to the stones and watched Sariel froth at the mouth as wood roots erupted up and cut off the earthen wave. “Answer me!”

Sariel ignored Stiles again as he flicked a flat hand at Erica and Boyd, dismissing the wolves with a pillar of stone punching them in the chest each sending them flying and crashing into the walls of the house. Wilson fell to a crumpled mess only for Stiles to blink and see him being held in the air with a single arm chokehold. “You miserable excuse of a servant! I tasked you to take his packbonds and to keep him distracted until we had all three!”

Wilson vainly tried to pry the iron fingers around his neck. **But Master, we have all three!**

Tightening his grip on Wilson’s throat, Sariel shook the black figure with fury and vigor. “OBVIOUSLY NOT OR I WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO RELEASE THE OTHER FALLEN ALREADY!”

**I was able to take Derek! It should be the strongest packbond of all!**

An aborted snort stilled both figures as they turned to Stiles who had his left arm crossed his chest while his right hand was held up to his side indicating to the rest of the pack standing behind him to pounce and ravage the moment his hand drops. “I’m sorry, please continue the evil villain plan exposé. Not like you didn’t make any glaring mistakes, but go on! Fill us in on all the dirty deeds done dirt cheap.”

Sariel’s fury stoked into a white-hot flame inside his chest. “You think this is some game boy?! That I had not been waiting for this chance only for you to some how screw everything up!? EONS I HAVE WAITED!”

Stiles just rolls his eyes. “You know what, I’m done listening to you bitch and moan.” With the ease of carelessness in the gesture, one would have imagined Stiles was bored holding his hand up. In reality, it was the swing of an executioner’s ax striking down on the condemned as six werewolves, claws out and fangs bared, rose in tandem to the fall of Stiles’ hand. Liam and Jackson darted to the sides and came in for a pincer attack aimed at Sariel’s legs. Scott and Ethan both rose high into the air and landed on the opposite side of the Sariel, effectively cutting him off from retreating. Erica and Boyd lunged forward, claws thrust forward in a twin spear movement. Sariel sneered and clutched at the still struggling dark form in his grip. Faster than the wolves would have expected, Sariel leapt into the air, effectively dodging Liam and Jackson, and performed a double axe kick from his floating position in the air and slammed both Erica and Boyd into the ground on top of Liam and Jackson. Scott and Ethan roared in challenge and leapt at Sariel only to be slapped out of the air sideways by his spectral wings as soon as the Fallen Archangel’s feet touched ground.

Blank, pale eyes met dauntless white ones. “You’re little mutts are no match for me. I’ll deal with them and seal off Isaac and Aiden afterwards. But first!”

The black figure in his grip began to screech in a whole new level of pain and fear as it squirmed and flailed itself in knots and spasms. Stiles watched in shock as his long time tormenter began to dissolve to pieces while also slowly being leeched into Sariel’s hand. “HELL NO! You are not getting Derek!” Stiles flicked his hand up with a lance of wood responding to his movement only to be held at bay by Sariel’s own hand. Stiles quickly whipped both hands across his chest and two stone pillars attempted to crush Sariel. Wilson fell to the ground in a twitchy mess as Sariel used a hand to halt the earthen assaults each.

Sariel’s snarl would have made any wolf proud as he began to saunter towards Stiles who dropped into a low Snake stance. The pack watched the two began to circle each other as they got up from their man-handling they were served by the freaky copy of Stiles as Wilson continued to twitch on the ground. Stiles and Sariel circled each other, Stiles flowing from step to step with Sariel more erratic and borderline feral in his movements. There were many feints between the two, trying to gauge the other in some way. A flick of a hand shooting off a flash of fire, twitchy fingers causing wooden spikes to pop up, a heavy step with crack in the earth, on and on the two reacted and feinted. Stiles began to realize that the two of were decently matched in terms of using his magic because clearly, this warped mirror of himself could use the Five elements of Wŭ Xíng as well as he could.

Stiles’ eyes glowed with ethereal white and the rest of the pack knew that he was in one of his heightened stages of combat and they all slightly shuddered. With a voice of rolling thunder, Stiles whispered so as not to arouse his opponent’s caution. “Liam, Идите в дом и принести мне Wǔ Shǒu Gēqǔ de Xīnzàng.” 

The littlest wolf quickly bounded into the house. Sariel noticed the movement and tried to torch Liam. A wave of dust rose up to shield the little wolf at the last moment, smothering the flames in a cloud of the earth. Sariel snapped his gaze to Stiles, who just smirked back. “You think I don’t know what you’re little welp of a son went to get?”

Stiles, still smirking, shrugged with one shoulder. “You wouldn’t have tried to stop him if it wasn’t important.”

“You having your toothpick will do you little good here.”

“Uh huh.”

Sariel smirked for the first time and it was oddly creepy to be on the receiving end of his own sass. “This celestial sphere will not be influenced by your sword. It doesn’t have the magic for it.”

Stiles’ eyes narrowed. “So I did hear correctly before. How the hell did I end up in one of the astral planes?”

Sariel chuckled darkly. “Humans have tried to reach a level of spiritual awareness to _astral project_ for millenniums. I simply performed an _astral abduction_ if you will with your soul. Easy enough after being bathed in the blood of a Nephilim.”

A roar and a thud had both Stiles and Sariel turning to see Scott’s fist in the ground where Wilson’s head should have been. The crooked jaw wolf looked up as he pulled his fist out of the hole in the ground and shrugged. “He was trying to get up.” Stiles and Sariel both cocked an eyebrow.

“Dad!”

Stiles turned in time to see his sword glistening as it tumbled in the air and landed in his palm. There was no surge of connection to the _qi_ as he expected, but it did confirm for him that Sariel had been telling the truth about the astral plane he was on. His consciousness, his mind, his self was trapped in an ethereal world. All around him was not so much a dream or alternate world. It was a whole different sense of reality.

Unsheathing the sword in his hand, Stiles held _Wǔ Shǒu Gēqǔ de Xīnzàng_ above his head in a low stance while keeping the wooden sheath in his left hand, folded against his forearm. Sariel stood tall but hunched, crooked fingers twiddling with rage. The two squared off for a moment before Sariel charged, screaming in hoarse rage.

Stiles let the ethereal white fade from his eyes as Sariel came upon him like a wild boar. With a lunge forward, Stiles tried to have the his crazy mirror image impale itself on his sword, only to watch the body sway minutely. The sharp point whizzed by the pale flesh by a hair’s breath only to be batted down by spectral black wings. Stiles felt the force of the blow in his wrist as he tried to hold the sword point up so he could try to slash at Sariel, but felt his jaw snap as a solid left hook from the Fallen Archangel connected. Stiles felt his teeth chatter but kept his stance firm and planted. Sariel, not expecting Stiles to stand his ground, crashed into his Stiles. The moment was short lived as Stiles retaliated with a small shoulder shove that sent Sariel stumbling backwards. A sharp pain shocked Sariel as he felt the bite of metal slicing into his side as the blade in Stiles’ hand sank into his side. Seething with rage, Sariel snapped his wings up above his head and slammed them down to the ground. Stiles jumped back rather than try to block the wings. Given their spectral nature, he wasn’t entirely sure how they worked. Dust rose and a wash of wind passed Stiles as the spectral angel wings slammed into the ground. He hesitated a moment before he drove his sword and scabbard down into the wings. Stiles felt the gratifying sensation of the sword stabbing through the flesh and feathers as the wooden scabbard smashed against bones and the ground as a shriek was rented from Sariel’s bloody lips. With a yank and a tear of flesh, Sariel pulled the impaled free of the sword. Caressing his wings, Sariel noted the jagged tear in his left wing and the limp broken part in his right wing. Sariel glared at Stiles, blood foaming through clenched teeth. Stiles smirked and slightly beckoned his doppelganger.

With a snap of his wings, Sariel launched himself at Stiles in flurry of limbs. This caught Stiles by surprise and he had to defty block and dodge the blue of fists, kicks, and beating wings. Stiles could feel the bite of his sword sink into the limbs, as he countered and blocked as best he could, but Sariel had six limbs to his four. Stiles saw the wing coming and could do nothing to stop it as a black spectral limb flew sideways and slammed him in the ribs. He flew to the side and landed with a crash. Stiles propped himself up on his arms and spat out the blood that was filling his mouth. He stood defiantly and glared at Sariel.

Sariel bull rushed Stiles once more, fist raised high, wings flared out and his eyes blown wide with rage. Stiles for his part remained calmed as he leaned back like a reed in the wind, taking Sariel’s charge head on. The Fallen Archangel had a brief moment of weightlessness hovering over Stiles as his mind registered the slither of metal piercing through his sternum and out of his back. A moment later, he found himself being pushed into the air while still impaled on the sword as if he truly was weightless.

Sariel’s wings hung limp, as did his limbs while Stiles stood tall with his sword pointed up with the Fallen Archangel shish kebab. A quick swing of his arm and Stiles tossed the still form of Sariel to the ground. With a quick whip to the right to flick off any excess blood, Stiles sheathed his sword and turned to the utterly stunned pack.

Marching over to the crumpled form of Wilson, Stiles shooed away Scott and places his hand on the prone figure once more. Blue white light flared across the twitchy body. It took a moment longer before Stiles sunk shoulder deep into a blue and white hole on Wilson’s body. He felt his fingers close around a wrist. Still silence rest over the clearing as Stiles began to pull once more. The ethereal white eyes regarded the black prone figure as more of his arm came free with relative ease. There was little struggle for Stiles as he kept pulling until a hand emerged. The pack around him almost surged to Stiles aide, but stopped when the hand grasped onto his wrist as well. With a smirk on his face, Stiles pulled and pulled. An elbow and then a shoulder appeared before another hand breached the blue white light. It flailed a moment before latching onto Stiles’ same hand. Sweat beaded as Stiles grimaced in effort as Derek heaved himself up and out with a gasp of air from the depths of the darkness.

Firm hands propped against Stiles’ back as he began to tip over from over balancing from hauling Derek out of Wilson. His eyes cleared to their whiskey brown color and a small smile broke across his face as he peeked around to see Liam holding him up. Stiles turned to the Alpha lying on the ground, panting while looking up at the pack that had surrounded him with his eyebrows scrunched together in a familiar look of confusion Stiles loved. Stiles chuckled, which had all of his pack turning to him. “These dumbasses. Only you Derek would screw them and their plans over without meaning to.”

“Excuse you?”

Stiles laughed as he carefully made his way over the prone wolf on the ground. Jackson helped him ease to the ground, wary of pain in his side, but that could wait. Seated next to the Alpha, Stiles gently caressed the smooth chin and cheek. “You, my wonderfully ignorant Alpha, screwed whatever those two had been planning.”

Derek double blinked. “I don’t understand what happened and how I stopped them without knowing.”

Stiles made a vague gesture to the two still figures off to the side. “Erica, Boyd, make sure those two don’t get again. Ever.” The two wolves silently obeyed as Stiles leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Derek’s lips. It was soft and chaste, but oh so filled with love. “They were trying to take my packbonds for some reason. They succeeded with Isaac and Aiden, but I don’t have a packbond with you for them to take.” A moment of fleeting sadness flickered in Derek’s hazel green eyes before Stiles leaned in again and pressed their lips together. This kiss was hard, desperate, and pulled a moan from Derek when Stiles pulled back smiling. “I have an alphabond with you. You are my mate, my strength, my other half. I love you.”

Stiles felt Derek’s hand gently grab his neck and pulled him into one more kiss. A kiss with such intense love behind it, everything went white.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **“Liam, Идите в дом и принести мне Wǔ Shǒu Gēqǔ de Xīnzàng.”** = Liam, go inside the house and bring me Five Songs of the Heart


	20. Falling from on High

Derek shielded his eyes from the chilling, dark light radiating from the Fallen Archangel, hissing from the bitter cold nipping at his skin and the thin linen clothes of the Full Moon Rites. Part of his mind was leery at the turn of events, but another part of him was a bit anxious as well. Something was unraveling for Sariel. He bore witness to both Isaac and Aiden functioning normally again for the first time in weeks and something had caused the Fallen Archangel extreme pain. There was only one thing he could cling to that would explain it all. Behind closed lids and shielded by his arm, Derek could almost see the truth in it all. “STILES!”

The vicious screech emanating from Sariel’s throat was changing. There was a wavering in pitch. For a moment, it was a fierce roar reaching the ears of the pack before there was another _portamento_ back to the vicious screech. With each accompanying change, there was a flash of warmth when the roar rose and a splash of cold when the screech fell.

A hand groped and grabbed until it landed on his shoulder. Waves of hair touching his shoulder told him it was Erica. “Derek! What’s going on!?”

“How the fuck should I know?!”

“You said you had a plan!”

“I got the knucker and The Coyote here as backup! That’s as far as the plan went!”

“What?!”

“Stiles is better at making plans than me!”

Erica groaned and a breath in his ear cut off as Derek suddenly straightened and gasped but fiercely kept his eyes shut and shielded. Deep within his soul, a sense of fulfillment and alignment twisted into place. The crippling pain relaxed in his chest and soon a blissful feeling resonated through him, reaching his very toes and fingers. It was the moment a sense of peace settled over him did Derek risk cracking one eye barely open. After a moment of hesitation, both his eyes widened in wonder. There was nothing but pure blue white all around. Reaching his hand out, Derek tried to see if there was anything there to grab, but his fingers closed around nothing. Looking around, he could see everyone else was still shielding their eyes, all in various defensive stances, although apparently that wasn’t necessary. There was no sign of the _Nephilim_ or the Shades around. Oddly enough, there was also no sign of the knucker or the forest for that matter. Everything was bathed in white. Wandering eyes finally landed on the apparent source of the ethereal light. “Stiles…”

Standing with his eyes closed, arms outstretched, brown hair as unruly as ever, barechest and barefoot in nothing but black yoga pants was Stiles. His face was relaxed and the creepy black lines weren’t around his eyes anymore. Derek took a tentative step forward, his hand still outstretched from before. A fearful hope choked him. The wolf within was frolicking in joy that it certainly looked like Stiles was back, but that human side held onto doubt. How many times had they been toyed with through this all? How long had it been since he got to hold on to his Stiles? His Stiles has such warm welcoming eyes. His Stiles has a smile that could brighten any room and a laugh that could lighten any heart. His Stiles with his gentle touch that could sooth the loneliness of any weary soul. By the moon, he so dearly missed his Stiles.

Another step forward and Derek could now smell Stiles. Explaining certain smells to humans was sometimes difficult for Derek. Scent was an intrinsic part to be a wolf. It often overwhelmed a newly bitten wolf with so much information and sensation so suddenly. Sure, there were certain things that could be easily described by saying it smells like this or that, but then there were other scents that could never translate correctly. Derek closed his eyes and breathed deep through his nose letting Stiles’ scent wash through him. Breathing in serenity, joy, security, and love. It was red, it was bright, it was a soft caress. This scent, oh how this scent filled Derek’s _soul_.

Letting out his deep breath softly, Derek realized he was right next to Stiles at this point, his feet carrying him forward while he had been lost in his mate’s scent. Looking at Stiles’ face, he could see the familiar constellations he traced on lazy mornings in bed. His hands were moving on their own, lifting up and reaching for Stiles’ outstretched hands. Before they could touch, Derek shivered and stopped himself from grasping those hands. Those hands and their long pianist fingers he would entwine with his own when their family went out. He couldn’t be sure. He was uncertain if this was really, really his Stiles again. Derek whispered once more, “Stiles?”

Hands grabbed onto his and Derek would swear to anyone who listened that he did not full body flinch. The hands that had a hold on his own held him tightly, but they weren’t bone crushing. After a moment of hesitation, tense shoulders relaxed and he returned the squeeze. He looked into that familiar face for the first time in a while without fear or anger. “Stiles?”

Stiles’ eyes opened and for a brief moment, Derek tensed when he didn’t see the warm whiskey brown eyes he was seeking, but calmed down once he realized the eyes were blue white, not pale and blank. For a span of a breath, those blue white eyes stared forward, straight through Derek before they seemed to zero in on Derek’s hazel green eyes. Unblinking eyes regarded his own before Derek realized Stiles had tilted his head to the left and was moving his face closer to his. There was an almost inquisitiveness and innocence to the expression on Stiles face that was so familiar, Derek had to smile.

Derek’s brain registered he was being gently kissed about ten seconds after Stiles lips met his. It took less than a nanosecond for Derek’s brain to melt into a pile of goo. Derek closed his eyes and began to deepen the kiss. These past few weeks had been trying for him. Being separated from Stiles was one thing, but for Stiles to some how be taken from him while not at the same time had driven him and his wolf absolutely insane. But now, he was finally getting to touch, to smell, to taste his other half again. He felt tears gently run down his face before he felt one of Stiles’ hands let go of his. Derek almost made a desperate grab for it before a gentle caress wiped across his cheek before their lips separated. The wolf within urged him to follow the lips and bite them back.

“Derek…”

The Alpha’s eyes opened and finally saw nothing but warm whiskey brown. Derek was lost. Lost in the smile that accented Stiles’ face and the familiar crinkles at the corner of his warm whiskey eyes.

“Hey there, Sourwolf.”

Derek choked a moment. “Hey, Sourpatch.”

“I missed you.”

“I _really_ missed you.”

Stiles chuckled and placed both hands on Derek’s face. Derek closed his eyes again and nuzzled into those warm hands before he felt himself being pulled in for another kiss. He could feel the smile on Stiles’ lips matching his own. “I promise you, my Alpha, I am back.”

A whine rose from the back of Derek’s throat as Stiles broke the kiss and stepped back away. Derek opened his eyes and looked at his mate as Stiles looked around. The situation came crashing back to Derek. Stiles may seem to be back to normal (which he will be questioning the fuck out of his mate later for that) but there was still the three _Nephilim_ and six Shades running amuck. He had not noticed them earlier during the white out, but all the brilliant blue white light was gone and they were back, standing in the woods by the beach.

Derek twisted around to where Liam, Ethan, Aiden, Jackson, Scott and Isaac were fighting the giant monstrosities moments before, but Stiles firm hand kept him from darting away. “Hey, its alright.”

A hysterical Alpha turned to his other half. “Alright?! How can you say that?! We’ve been fighting fang and claw for weeks against these things and we’ve always barely scraped by while you’ve been apparently been possessed by some sort of Fallen Archangel that is NOT one that fell with Lucifer!”

Stiles was strangely calm through Derek’s tirade. Derek, on the other hand, was almost frothing at the mouth when Stiles smirked. “You didn’t honestly think that while I was getting my _Tron_ on I wouldn’t take care of things that were potentially harmful to our pack right? I mean descending from a higher level of reality is pretty hard as there is the paradox that I was there, but not really there and it comes to the question of what part of me was gone or was any part of me really gone so it leads the question to if I was here and not here, but when you think about the potential theoretical quantum chaos-”

Derek placed a finger over Stiles lips. “Ok, you’re going to stop there because I know you’re about to start using big words I don’t know. Nut shell: you came back.”

Stiles pulled back so Derek’s finger fell away. “Yup.” Popped ‘p’ included.

“During said trip back, you got rid of six Shades and three _Nephilim_.”

“Without going into all the details of how I exorcised the Shades and reimprisoned the _Nephilim_?”

“Stiles, you know I never understood anything you talked to Danny and Lydia about magic of any sort.”

“Yes, I got rid of our problems pests.”

Derek clenched Stiles hands almost painfully tight. “And Sariel?”

Stiles snorted. “McDouchebag? I killed him in the Celestial Sphere after dealing with Wilson.” Derek double blinked, Stiles sighed. “Evil-Me equals shish kabob.”

“Ok, so who’s Wilson?”

Stiles opened his mouth but was cut off, in a way. Derek blinked as he suddenly lost contact with Stiles’ hand and his mated seemed to disappear. A moment later the “ _Umph_!” he heard had Derek’s eyes traveling to the ground to see a pile of limbs. Taking a whiff, he noted that the pile was comprised of his sons apparently smothering Stiles into oblivion. The soft sound of crunching footfall preceded the rest of the pack showing up, all with varying degrees of astonishment, surprise and general glee, but it was the sounds from his sons that took the cake.

Ethan plastered his face into Stiles’ neck with his arms around Stiles’ neck “We missed you so much!”

Aiden clung to Stiles’ head and cradled it to his body like an egg. “Thank the moon you’re back!”

Liam’s voiced was muffled into Stiles’ chest apparently underneath both his older brothers given the leg’s sticking out from the pile. “Dad-dad-dad-dad-dad-dad-dad!”

Stiles tried to say something and flailed a bit in an attempt to communicate. ‘Attempt’ being the keyword here. Derek chuckled. “Ok, pups-“

“Papa! We’re not pups!”

“-still not sorry-you should let dad up and give him some breathing room.”

A chuckle from underneath the pile of werewolf limbs had everyone tensing for a moment. That chuckled had tormented them for weeks. It had been something warm and inviting, but lately it held darker notes and memories. It wasn’t until the raucous laughter came did all the other wolves relax. Stiles’ voice filtered through his sons’ limbs. “That certainly sounds normal. Thank goodness.”

Scott tilted his head and his brow furrowed. “What sounds normal?”

“Never mind, Scotty.”

“Stiles! Come on! Just tell me!”

A huff from underneath the pups preceded Scott yelping as his left foot sank into a hole, tripping him and having him land on his back, after a brief moment of flailing. “Next time Scotty, I will fart in your general direction.”

The blond she-wolf huffed. “Is there someone else we can talk to?”

“No! Now go away or I will taunt you a second time!” Stiles retorted with a horrible French accent.

Erica tried to stop it but she snorted into her hands. This only caused her to laugh at the ridiculous sound she made. Her bright laugh was rather infectious after the tumultuous night they’ve had. It started with Jackson just blurting out his laughter and doubling over. Next was Lydia, who held up a hand to her mouth to silence herself as she squinted in a vague attempted to control herself, but the way her body shook, you could tell she was close to losing it. Danny threw his head back and had to grab onto a madly snickering Isaac to keep himself from falling over. Scott had his forehead to Allison’s shoulder and his guffaws shook himself and his wife as she gasped and quietly convulsed in silent mirth. Boyd is simply smiling and shaking his head, arms around Erica as he holds her up from face planting. Ethan, Liam and Aiden were the only ones not laughing. They were just so _done_ with their dad’s terrible sense of humor.

Deep rumbling accompanied by squelching had the whole pack turning towards the edge of the lake. A rather sour looking man, who Derek could now see was The Coyote, strode out of the water as the Knucker continued to chortle. The Coyote glared at the British Water Dragon, but Derek stepped forward and bowed low as he spoke. “ _Akba-Atatdia_ , _dégharé marsi nénesdhen.”_

The Coyote snorted. “Your accent is terrible, but I appreciate the effort. _Sughuá hásįlá._ ”

Stiles popped his head up from underneath his sons. “What language did you just use?”

Derek smirked. “Chipewyan. It’s one of the languages of the First Nations in Canada.”

“Did you seriously just use a language _I_ didn’t know for once?” Derek preened as the rest of the pack had begun to get a hold of themselves as Stiles was able to extract himself from the grasp of his sons. Glancing at The Coyote, Stiles raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t think you came this far west, Old Man Coyote.”

The Coyote shrugged with a smile. “Still sharp as ever I see, Stiles. Your Alpha made contact with me, which I’m still trying to figure out how he found me in the first place, to ask for my assistance. When he explained it all, I figured he would need all the help he could get. Besides, the two of us,” The Coyote gestured to the knucker and himself, “sort of owe you guys for not getting your across the border safely in the first place.”

Lydia turned to The Coyote. “Not that we aren’t grateful for the help and all, but I have to ask, how did you stop Sariel from using Stiles’ magic?”

The Coyote had a toothy smile as his eyes flashed a myriad of colors, earning a gasp from the pack, aside from Stiles and Derek. “You could say I am in with the Great Spirit and just interrupted that child while he tried to meddle with things he shouldn’t have.”

Danny stared at The Coyote for a moment before his eyebrows slow rose. “Old Man Coyote… _Akba-Atatdia…_ Great Spirit…you’re THE COYOTE, aren’t you?! The Trickster god of most of the Native American and First Nation tribes!”

Stiles threw Danny a confused glance. “What did you think I meant when I kept calling him ‘The Coyote’ this entire time?”

Derek knitted his eyebrows together. “I figured we’d need a god to deal with an angel. Who better than him?”

Scott looked flabbergasted as he pointed at The Coyote while addressing the Alpha Pair. “You knew he was a god?! You didn’t tell us you met a god?! HE’S A GOD?!” Derek and Stiles watched the crooked-jaw Beta carefully, sharing a glance, before just nodding. Scott sputtered while the rest of the pack laughed, the knucker glancing up to the Moon overhead hearing a joyous song being sung that did not reach mortal ears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had meant for this to be the final chapter, but I kept writing and writing and figured I'd just split this up some. One more chapter to go!


	21. Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies. ~ Aristotle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well everyone, I hope you enjoyed this story of mine. I know it was very different from Unlikely Guardian, but I wanted to challenge my writing style and see if I could write a bit of a mystery/psychological story compared to an action/suspense. I am outlining the last book in this series as well as a Destiel series so dont expect me to post anything substantial any time soon.
> 
> ****  
>   
> _WARNING: Get the tissues!_  
>   
> 

Aiden let out a frustrated grunt as he somehow got his finger tied into his bowtie. Again. “I am about three seconds away from shredding this thing!” Angrily, he tried to yank his finger out and only seemed to tighten the silken noose around his finger tip. Glaring at the offending formal wear, Aiden popped a claw and was about to shred the thing to pieces when hand grabbed his hand. “Hey, hey, hold it right there! You are NOT tearing that off.”

“Uncle Jacks, I know you like wearing all _this_ nonsense, but I don’t!”

Jackson grinned as he carefully undid the slightly red finger for his nephew. “I got both your dads into the same outfits for today, if they aren’t getting out of them, what makes you think you’re going to?”

Aiden crinkled his chocolate brown eyes. “I still say you had Aunt Lyds do something to them.”

The blond Beta chuckled. “And she did! Threats were made and both Stiles and Derek were soon convinced of the errors of their ways concerning the proper attire for the occasion.”

Aiden scowled. He remembered the day some months back when both his Dad and Papa came home looking white as sheets. They went straight to their room and apparently cuddled into the security of their bed. There was no scent of sex wafting from the room unlike most nights. Apparently, they had simply held each other seeking to comfort the other. Whatever Aunt Lydia had said must have really, _really_ worked well.

A knock at the door had Jackson and Aiden glancing over to see Liam and Ethan walking into the room, both smartly dressed like Aiden in off cream khaki pants with a white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, complete with a matching cream colored vest. Each person was given the choice of what kind of bow tie to wear ( _“No neck ties Jackson.” “But Stiles-“ “I will get out the newspaper!”)_ to add their own little accents to their outfits. A big green bag from Osh Kosh bounced as Ethan shifted it to the side while in Liam’s arms was the newest member of the Hale Pack, Isadora.

The little girl was asleep and in Liam and Ethan’s care so Erica and Boyd could finish setting things up in the kitchen for the reception to follow the main event. Isaac, Danny, and Allison were putting the finishing touches in the backyard as Scott handled Stiles where as Laura, Derek’s older sister, who had flown in with the rest of Derek’s family, was trying to wrangle her brother into NOT canceling everything out of sheer nerves. Lydia was off terrifying some poor sap with her impressive clipboard.

Liam gently rocked the baby gently as she slept. “You almost set?”

Jackson tugged the bow tie tight around Aiden’s neck and stood up. “Yup! I think it’s time we get things under way and finally get your dad and papa married.”

“And about time too.” Ethan and Aiden intoned in stereo.

The four wolves walked out of the house into the backyard, sleepy baby still out like a light, and into what could be described as a fairy tail of a wedding. The spring weather had been holding out and graced the evening with a clear twilight sky as the sun began to touch the horizon. Seated in white wooden folding chairs were family and friends alike on either side of an aisle made of fairy berry lights scattered to create a starry path on the ground. Tiki torches burned along the outside of the chairs to add a cheery glow while also keeping away the obnoxious blood suckers rising with spring. At the center of the aisle stood Alan Deaton and Marin Morrell.

A general murmur hung above the crowd of loved ones as anticipation arose from the appointed moment coming closer. Liam, Ethan, and Aiden made their way down the aisle and as they neared the front, a pair of hands stopped them. Erica smiled as she gently extricated her daughter out the littlest wolf’s arms as Boyd made a quick snatch of the diaper bag on Ethan’s shoulder. “Thank you boys. Go ahead and take your places. Scott and Jackson are both just about ready to lead Stiles and Derek in.”

All three boys couldn’t help but smile and say nothing in their excitement. It was just about five years now since they had come home to Beacon Hills after escaping from their nightmare of a life. Their dad had taken them away from the loneliness and pain, giving them so much love and never demanding anything. Their dad had protected them, raised them, and loved them. When their papa came in to their lives as well, they felt stable, they felt secure, they felt at peace. Their papa had provided a haven for them to thrive and grow in. Their two parents worked in tandem with almost effortless ease. The running pool at the station with Dzadiku and his deputies was that Derek would chicken out and call the whole thing off until next year.

Sure, their dad and papa were already mated as far as pack was concerned and shared a powerful alphabond that any supernatural creature could detect (apparently aside from a certain set of fallen angels), but this day was long in coming and hotly anticipated. It was legally and finally establishing their family together.

 

Liam smiled as he looked out over the crowd of people. His earliest memories were of Stiles taking care of him and his brothers. The world around wasn’t soft or warm, but he could feel that Stiles had shielded him. After coming home to Beacon Hills and meeting his papa, Liam felt even more secure and protected. Papa understood him on a more primal level and provided a different sense of security. After all, Liam knew his dad could take down his papa and frighten the ever living crap out of each member of the pack, but his wolf within had settled considerably once he was around other, older wolves especially his papa, a born wolf like him and his brothers. Liam’s wolf recognized the Alpha predator in his dad, but there was something about being around an Alpha wolf like his papa that was peaceful and soothing.

Ethan gazed at Uncle Scott and Uncle Jackson as they sat off to the side of the Druids. Uncle Scott was plucking his guitar as his Uncle Jackson was working his scales for his voice. Not many people realized how musically inclined his Uncle Jackson was and it was always fun to see the reactions when he gets going. It’s a carefully kept secret that Aunt Lydia will do just about anything to hear Uncle Jackson sing. After a moment to pause and collect themselves, Uncle Scott began to play in earnest and Uncle Jackson began to sing.

 _Whether I'm right or wrong_  
_There's no phrase that hits_  
_Like an ocean needs the sand_  
_Or a dirty old shoe that fits_

Everyone turned at some unspoken gesture and there, standing at the edge of the yard was Stiles and Derek, hands behind their backs. The Sheriff stood a step behind his son while Talia Hale stood just behind her son, both parents absolutely beaming as their sons began to slowly walk down the aisle.

_You make me feel so beautiful_

Stiles and Derek were dressed just like their sons as they passed through the throngs of loved ones, smiles small but bright accenting their faces. Aiden’s cheeks hurt with how hard he was smiling as he gently wiped a stray tear as Stiles and Derek neared the Druids they had become good friends with after the whole ordeal with Sariel.

 _Yeah, darlin’, you know_  
_You are beautiful, you, you are_  
_You are so beautiful_

Stiles smiled brightly as he faced Derek, who smiled just as wide. Derek reached out and grabbed Stiles hands and raised them up to be between them. Marin grinned as she addressed the gathered loved ones. “On behalf of the Alphas of the Beacon Hills, I welcome you to this joyous occasion in the union of these two wonderful men.”

Alan looked aloof, but thoughtful. “Alpha Hale and Alpha Stilinski have asked us Druids to preside over this union in keeping with a few of the Celtic traditions that the Hale pack brought over with them from Europe.”

Marin gave her brother a side eye glare before addressing everyone once again. “The Alpha Pair wished to express their vows here and now so you may witness their commitment.”

All eyes turned to Derek and Stiles, who had eyes for no one else in the world. In this moment, there existed but one soul to the other. Shaking his head to collect his thoughts, Stiles spoke to Derek, both hands clutched together. “There aren’t many people in the world that understand me. I’m such this spastic, sarcastic guy that I’ve had so few people in my life that would stick by me. I wanted to only be surrounded by people that would always stand with me. You know more than anyone how jealously I guard my heart. My brothers from other mothers,” Stiles glanced to Isaac in the front row and then found Scott, “were basically inoculated being with me for so long and I couldn’t love them any more. My best friend,” Stiles shared a smile with Jackson, “clicked with me after he got past the lies told about me. My dear friends,” Stiles sought the eyes of Lydia, Danny, Erica and Boyd and Allison, “came into my life and part of me wondered if I would be able to let them in my guard, but I’ll be damned if they didn’t just worm past all my defenses. My sons,” Stiles could see all three of his boys beginning to puff up, “didn’t have much choice in the matter, but I wouldn’t replace them for the world. Blessings I never expected to have.” Bringing his whiskey brown eyes back to hazel green, Stiles found the edges beginning to blur. “Then there was you.”

Jackson’s voice and Scott’s guitar began to softly waft into the air once more. A song full of trepidation, yearning, and love.

Stiles let out a happy sob. “You were this wall I collided with and I fought so hard against it. You were this solid power, this-this primal force standing like a bulwark as I came crashing back into Beacon Hills after five years of living a nightmare with only three little guiding lights pointing my every decision. Living like a convict, like an animal at times, you made me feel in ways I had long closed off and that terrified me.” Stiles shivered a moment but felt Derek’s grip tighten. “You scared me but you captured my attention. Now, after all this time, I can’t imagine my life without you. You ground me, you shelter me, you treasure me. You make me whole in a way I never realized I was missing the other half.”

Derek knew there was nary a single dry eye left as he wiped his own tears from his eyes and lightly chuckled. “Damn it! Why do you always do this to me!” Letting out a roar, Derek collected himself before bringing himself back to a smiling Stiles. “How do you constantly just twist and warp my world? I can’t imagine how simple and dull my life had been before meeting you. There are times when I thought that I knew everything I would need to have a pretty good life. My family loved and supported me,” Derek turned to see his mom and dad teary eyed, “I had a strong pack to build a life around,” Derek swept his gaze to his pack, “and then you. You came stumbling into my life and you tried to mug me with a spoon!” Laughter broke out from the assembled crowd _as.  
_

Derek shook his head. “You come in with that crazy gleam in your eyes and I wonder what kind of person is behind those beautiful whiskey brown pools. Taming three wolves and then raising three pups-“

“Papa!” Three petulant cries came from behind Derek.

“-still not sorry cause you were most definitely pups back then-no, sane person would sign up for this supernatural crap! But you-you just have this conviction of heart that drew me in. That pull had me dancing to your tune for the first few weeks we met. Nothing I did seemed to thaw that frosty countenance you had with me and yet, the more I learned about you, the more your light drew me in. Like a moth to a flame.”

Derek squeezed Stiles hands again. “And I couldn’t help but want to burn in the love that I could see that was a beacon to everyone else around in your heart.”

 _So with the fire still burning bright,_  
_I wanna gaze into your light_

Stiles let out a choked out sob as he brought their clasped hands to his lips and kissed them. Derek did the same before they turned their heads to a smiling Alan and a weeping Marin while Scott softly played with Jackson swaying silently in time. Alan reached into his pocket and pulled out a gold and silver threaded cord and with Stiles and Derek’s hands still clasped together, he began to lightly wrap and tie their hands together as Marin spoke clear to the crowd. “I give this blessing on behalf of the Druids of Beacon Hills and the world over:

 **May love and laughter light your days,**  
**and warm your heart and home.**  
**May good and faithful friends be yours,**  
**wherever you may roam.**  
**May peace and plenty bless your world**  
**with joy that long endures.**  
**May all life's passing seasons**  
**bring the best to you and yours!** ”

Alan smiled as he stood straight and spoke loudly and warmly. “By the blessings of the Druids of Beacon Hills and the world over-“

“-and by the state of California!” Marin interjected.

“we now pronounce you Mr. Stiles Stilinski-Hale and Mr. Derek Stilinski-Hale!”

The applause was thunderous as Stiles and Derek came together for their kiss. Stiles laughed and sobbed in the same breath where Derek somehow just smiled as they kissed. Scott and Jackson picked up and could be heard even over the crowds clapping, cheering and howling. Liam, Ethan, and Aiden abandoned their posts as the Best Men and collided with their parents in a massive hug.

 _So don't cry for your love, cry tears of joy_  
_'Cause you're alive cradled in love_  
  
_Cradled in love_

Stiles whispered to Derek as they rested their foreheads together while the cheering went on and on, “There’s no going back now you know. You’ve got all of us now, _forever_.”

Derek smiled brightly as he captured those sweet pink lips once more with his own. “The uncertain times have long passed. I have my sons and I have you until the end of time.” Derek felt the group hug tighten around him as the boys closed in tighter. “I love you, Stiles.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT NOTE 6/28/16: I had to remove most of the lyrics for the songs as a Copyright issue.
> 
> Wedding March Song:  
> Darren Hayes [So Beautiful](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HpA7UZvWdc)
> 
> Wedding Vows Song:  
> Poets of the Fall [Cradled in Love](https://youtu.be/bp0AHQooVSY?t=39s)  
> 


	22. SPOILERS: Reader's Cheat Sheet!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So I know that there are plenty of people that may still be confused on what my key hints were for how to differentiate between the scenes of the Real World and the Celestial Sphere so I made a Cheat Sheet with all the hints to look for. Go back and read certain sections and keep an eye out for any the following and it should help tell you where each scene is happening.
> 
> I hope that this gives you a better understanding of the story!

Real World/ **Celestial**  
Derek's Black Camaro/ **Derek's Silver Camaro**  
Derek is scruffy/ **Derek is clean shaven**  
Stiles' Blue Jeep/ **Stiles' Red Jeep**  
Erica is pregnant/ **Erica talks about having kids in the future**  
Lacrosse/ **Tennis**  
Liam, Ethan and Aiden don't like being called "Pups"/ **Don't care about being called "Pups"**


End file.
